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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28876827">Justice Falls: Season One</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/grubbypublius/pseuds/grubbypublius'>grubbypublius</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Gravity Falls</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Blood and Violence, Gen, Inspired By Gravity Falls, Major Original Character(s), Mild Language, Original Character(s), Original Universe, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Rating: PG13, Teenage Dipper Pines and Mabel Pines</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 07:21:33</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>42,606</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28876827</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/grubbypublius/pseuds/grubbypublius</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A new universe is born thanks to my mind! Sort of a crossover, but not really. 15 year old Dipper Pines finds the journal as usual in his first few days at Gravity Falls, but one fateful day, Dipper's life changes forever, and it's now up to him and a new friend to protect his family and the town from the strange properties of Gravity Falls. Each two chapters will be an episode, since each episode is so long in length and too much to digest at once.(MILD LANGUAGE, VIOLENCE)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Pilot: Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A brand new universe and a brand new summer of fun! This is my biggest project yet, and I've had a lot of fun so far building this universe. Read and enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Whoa.</p><p>I must be dreaming.</p><p>Either that or I'm about to hit the ground from a couple thousand feet to my demise.</p><p>Really hoping for the dreaming right now.</p><p>This doesn't really worry me that much. I have dreams just like this all the time. It's just that this one… seems so much more realistic than normal.</p><p>Like, I can feel the wind coursing through my hair as I fall…</p><p>Wait…</p><p>I'm falling at an alarming rate. This feels too realistic.</p><p>It's alright, it's just a dream. It's gotta be. What else would explain it? Then again, this is Gravity Falls, so almost nothing has a rational explanation.</p><p>I try pinching myself.</p><p>Ow.</p><p>Crap.</p><p>I smack my own face.</p><p>Ow again.</p><p>Double crap.</p><p>This isn't a dream. This is real life.</p><p>The horror of the situation pumped adrenaline through me, speeding up my heart rate.</p><p>There's nothing I can do about this.</p><p>I'm going to die.</p><p>My breathing rate accelerated significantly. I'm about to pass out.</p><p>I just fell through clouds, and now I can see the town of Gravity Falls.</p><p>I'm no mathematician, but I calculate I have about thirty seconds till I splat wherever I land.</p><p>My stupid mind is trying to figure out a way out of this debacle. My dad always said I had an innovative mind.</p><p>I can feel my skin start to heat up. I'm becoming a meteor.</p><p>The ground becomes bigger and bigger in my sight.</p><p>With the last seconds before the impact, I let out a scream that I would never have been proud of in any other scenario. In one last, useless effort, I put my arms in front of my face for protection.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>
  <strong>EIGHTEEN HOURS EARLIER…</strong>
</p><p>. . . .</p><p>Well, this is exactly the opposite of what I wanted to do with my summer. A bus ride over 10 hours away from my home in Piedmont to a town in the middle of the woods with someone I barely even know.</p><p>Oh, even better yet.</p><p>I get to spend the<br/>
whole<br/>
Frickin<br/>
Summer here.</p><p>Fan-flipping-tastic.</p><p>On the bright side, I'm not alone. My twin sibling is tagging along as well. That's a good thing, since we've been so close for all these years.</p><p>Oh, sorry. Let me introduce myself.</p><p>My name is Dipper Pines.</p><p>And I'm about to have the worst summer ever.</p><p>I'm fifteen years old, and so is my twin sister Mabel, though she is older by five minutes.</p><p>She's always made fun of me for being younger.</p><p>I always say that she'll die first.</p><p>I have a pretty sick sense of humor.</p><p>Anyway, our parents decided that it would be “in our best interest” to stop being so dependent on technology and enjoy the outdoors.</p><p>So our parents sent us up north to some weird town called Gravity Falls to go live with our great uncle Stan.</p><p>I mean, that's cool and all, but I really don't think it's a good idea to leave your kids hundreds of miles away with a person that's been to prison in three separate countries.</p><p>So now Mabel and I are sitting in the hot, damp bus, waiting to be dropped off. I look out of the window, only seeing green trees and brush. I sigh. No sign of civilization anywhere. I put my Piedmont High School baseball hat on my face to cover it. Probably a good time to take a nap. I nudge around a little until I find a comfortable position.</p><p>Suddenly the bus slowed down.</p><p>The bus driver turned around.</p><p>“Attention all Gravity Falls passengers, your stop is here.”</p><p>Son of a…</p><p>“Ugggh.” I groan in frustration. I nudge Mabel in the shoulder, waking her up.</p><p>Her eyes opened very quickly and she screamed at the top of her lungs. “You will be overthrown, clown prince!”</p><p>A lot of the other bus passengers gave us funny looks. I blushed in embarrassment.</p><p>“Come on, Mabel, let's go.” I said, taking my suitcase and hers and started walking down the center bus aisle.</p><p>Mabel, still groggy, nodded her head and followed me.</p><p>I thanked the bus driver and we stepped off. The bus pulled away, driving down the road until it becomes a speck in the distance. I look up from where the bus was and there was a giant water tower saying “Gravity Falls” on it.</p><p>“I guess we're here.” I said.</p><p>“Now what? I'm bored.” Said Mabel.</p><p>“You're always bored.”</p><p>“That’s not the point. The point is that I’m bored… right at this moment!”</p><p>I looked at my phone. “Mabel we haven’t even been here for a full minute.”</p><p>“Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, geniuses have short attention spans!”</p><p>“I doubt that he ever said that in his existence.” I reply.</p><p>“What do you know?” said Mabel, crossing her arms in a very childish way.</p><p>I chuckled. “What do I know…”</p><p>“So what do we do now? Do we wait for him or what?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“Why wait for him when he’s already here?” says a voice behind our backs. Mabel and I turn our heads to see the person who said that.</p><p>Standing behind us was a man who I presume is our great uncle Stan. He was an inch or two shorter than me (I’m 5’11”), with grey hair. He was wearing a suit, with a shoelace tied tie. He was wearing a fez with some sort of a crescent/Pac Man shape on it, along with an eyepatch, which was lifted up at the moment over his glasses. Mabel and I said nothing. We just stared at the man.</p><p>He coughed. “Well, let’s start this off simple. I’m your great uncle Stan, but you can call me Grunkle Stan.” He held his hand out for me to shake it.</p><p>I gulped. “My name’s Dipper.” I said as I shook his hand.</p><p>“That some kind of nickname?”</p><p>“Yes, sir.”</p><p>“You can cut the sir crap, Dipper. I’m family, not a drill sergeant.” said Stan.</p><p>“Yes, sir.”</p><p>“I’m serious kid. Any reason you have that nickname?”</p><p>“Yeah, I’ll tell you later.” I let go of Stan’s hand. He caught view of Mabel, who was still gawking at him.</p><p>“And this is my twin sister Mabel.” I said, gesturing to her. She snapped out of her trance and leapt in for an aggressive hug that Stan was not prepared for.</p><p>“Twin sister?” said Grunkle Stan, looking lost for a second or two.</p><p>“Hi Grunkle Stan!” said Mabel with such enthusiasm. “I can already tell it’s going to be a great summer!”</p><p>“Heh, me too, Mabel, is it?” said Stan.</p><p>He looks just about as thrilled as I am.</p><p>“Alright, it’s 5:07.” said Grunkle Stan. “I think it’s just about dinner time.”</p><p>Mabel nodded hungrily. I just shrugged my shoulders.</p><p>Grunkle Stan flashed a long face at me.</p><p>“Mabel, sweetie, can you take the luggage and put it in the trunk of my El Diablo right over there?”</p><p>“Sure thing, Grunkle Stan!” said Mabel, saluting. Grunkle Stan flinged the keys at her, and after a couple of seconds of fumbling, she caught it and was on her way.</p><p>Now he looked at me with a slightly worried face. “You okay, champ?”</p><p>“Me? Sure.”</p><p>“I can tell when people are lying, kiddo. What’s wrong?”</p><p>I sighed. What’s the point in telling another lie? “Honestly, no offense, but I really don’t wanna be here.”</p><p>“None taken. But don’t worry. I may not be the best law-abiding citizen that your parents think I am, but I guarantee that I’ll be the best summer caretaker that I can. I don’t get to see much family, especially in the last thirty years, but you happen to be in one of the most beautiful towns I know, plus you’ve got three months away from all the stresses of your normal life!” said Stan.</p><p>I shrugged my shoulder. “I guess you could say that.”</p><p>“Cheer up, Dipper, it’s summer!”</p><p>“True. School did just end yesterday.”</p><p>“That’s the spirit. I’ll tell you, once you get to know me and this town, you’ll love it here. Take my word for it. This town will grow on you.” said Grunkle Stan.</p><p>“Okay, I’ll try.” I said.</p><p>“That’s better. Now get in the car. I’m sure you’re starving.”</p><p>My stomach rumbled in agreement.</p><p>“Alright, Grunkle Stan.”</p><p>We both headed to the car, and to be honest, I’m surprised it wasn’t on fire. Mabel has a thing with fire.</p><p>Soon enough, we were off to Greasy’s Diner, or that’s what I think it’s called, with Stan blaring classic rock songs on his radio and Mabel singing along to them slightly off key.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>Believe it or not, I actually had a lot of fun at dinner, and on top of that, the diner had the best club wrap I’ve ever eaten.</p><p>A good portion of it was us talking about our lives and preferences. Grunkle Stan and I talked for about half an hour just on football. Though Piedmont is really close to Oakland, I was a San Diego (now Los Angeles. Rip) Chargers fan. Poor Grunkle Stan was a Philadelphia Eagles fan. He said he grew up around there in New Jersey. We spent another half an hour making Chuck Norris jokes and making fun of Donald Trump. Mabel kept us entertained by performing magic tricks like the salt shaker through the table trick and sticking french fries up her nose. Before we know it, dinner was over and we were leaving the diner.</p><p>We got back in the El Diablo. Grunkle Stan turned to us.</p><p>“I say we go home. You guys should unpack and get used to the house.”</p><p>Mabel and I nodded.</p><p>It took a little while to get back to Grunkle Stan’s house. Eventually Mabel and I slept on the ride, exhausted from the trip and all the food intake.</p><p>“Get up, you two.” said Stan, getting out of the car, waking both of us up.</p><p>We groggily got out of the car and grabbed our luggage, paying no attention to the house. We were about to step in when Grunkle Stan yelled:</p><p>“Welcome, Dipper and Mabel, to the Mystery Shack!”</p><p>“Mystery Shack?” I said, still rubbing my eyes. “I didn’t know you named your hou-” I gasped as I looked at where we are going to live.</p><p>Mabel gasped a millisecond later. We did not expect this.</p><p>Turns out the Mystery Shack is actually some kind of tourist attraction.</p><p>Mabel started hopping in joy. “This is so cool!”</p><p>So this is what my parents meant when they said he worked at home.</p><p>“So what does this mean?” I ask.</p><p>“Well, how do I say this in a legal way… you’re going to work for me too.”</p><p>“Grunkle Stan, don’t we have to be sixteen to be hired?”</p><p>“Actually, the laws allow labor at 14. Check mate.” said Grunkle Stan.</p><p>Fantastic.</p><p>My parents never mentioned this to me.</p><p>“Aw come on, it’ll be great! I’ll teach you so much about business, like how to add zeros to the end of prices!”</p><p>Oh, and he’s cheap too. We got a real winner here.</p><p>We walk to the door, where he let us in and showed us around the house. I was not impressed by the tourist attractions he made. How did he get all that income for this long with that crap?</p><p>Then he led us to the upper floor, where he opened up a back door, revealing a rather spacious attic.</p><p>“And this is where you two are going to be staying.” said Grunkle Stan.</p><p>“Don’t you think that’s weird, Grunkle Stan? We are different genders and we’re almost sixteen.” I said.</p><p>“Eh, just look the other way if you’re changing. No biggie.” said Stan. “Well, I gotta close up shop. Feel free to unpack and mill about.” He left after that.</p><p>I shook my head as I started unpacking my stuff on my bed.</p><p>“What’s the matter, Dipstick? Don’t you wanna room with your hot sister?” said Mabel as she popped a quarter pound of bubblegum in her mouth.</p><p>“That’s utterly disgusting, both you making that remark and the fact that you’re choking yourself with bubblegum.” I retort as I resume unpacking. “This is gonna be a long summer.” I mutter to myself.</p><p>Soon after, we finish unpacking and head downstairs.</p><p>“Hey, you two!” said Grunkle Stan, pointing at us, which scared me and forced me to cry a rather pubescent scream. “Note to self: scare Dipper more often.” he added, writing down on a notepad.</p><p>“Not funny. What do you want, old man?” I said.</p><p>“I was just going to introduce you knuckleheads to the other employees.” said Grunkle Stan, playfully hitting me on the shoulder with a newspaper. “C’mere.”</p><p>We followed him into the gift shop, where one person was screwing in a lightbulb with a… hammer? And another person was literally hitting a customer out of the store with a broom.</p><p>“I think I’ve found my people.” said Mabel.</p><p>I rolled my eyes. I think she’s found her people as well.</p><p>“Soos! Wendy! Here pronto!” said Grunkle Stan. Once they finished their jobs, they headed over. The man who was working on the lightbulb came down first.</p><p>“I’m here, Mr. Pines! Now may I be adopted?”</p><p>“For the thousandth time, Soos, you’re too old to be adopted in the first place. For Christ’s sake you're basically an adult.”</p><p>Soos narrowed his eyes. “I will not be stopped by your discouragement.”</p><p>“Wendy! Get over here!”</p><p>The other employee who I guess is Wendy came over.</p><p>Wow.</p><p>She is drop dead gorgeous.</p><p>My jaw hit the floor.</p><p>“Soos and Wendy, this is Dipper and Mabel.” Said Grunkle Stan, patting our shoulders.</p><p>“Sup dawg?” Said Soos, giving me and Mabel a knuckle knock.</p><p>“Hey dude.” Says Wendy nonchalantly, which makes me freeze.</p><p>“Uh… you too.” I managed to utter. What? I blushed red in embarrassment.</p><p>After the meet and greet Grunkle Stan let us go do whatever we want, as long as we're back before dusk. I check my phone. 7:48. Enough time to mill about in the forest.</p><p>I sneak off into the forest without having Mabel stalk me.</p><p>Finally. Some time to relax by myself. Just me and the silence of the woods. Note to self: come here more often.</p><p>I pause to sniff in the lovely aroma of the pine trees…</p><p>And animal excrement. Ew.</p><p>Suddenly a loud noise pierced through the forest. I stopped breathing. Wolves. A whole bunch of them.</p><p>They're coming this way. What am I gonna do?</p><p>Then I see the first wolf. Making a beeline for me.</p><p>Without even thinking, my instincts took over, and before I know it, I'm ten feet in the air, kneeling on a large branch of a tree. I hold my breath.</p><p>The pack sprinted by. I wait another ten minutes before I move.</p><p>What a relief. I wiped my brow and started getting up. I reached for another branch to help me get up. I grabbed the branch and pulled up.</p><p>The branch… went down like a lever? My disbalance caused me to fall off the other branch.</p><p>I landed with a thud on the forest floor. I got up off the ground and stared at the branch. It looked a lot like a lever. Problem was that it was only halfway down. My curious side took over me and I was back up there, pushing the lever down.</p><p>A mysterious whirring of circuits came from inside the tree. I take a step back and almost lose my balance again.</p><p>Suddenly, a rectangular part of the tree opens up, brilliant white light bursting out of it. I shield my eyes until they adjust.</p><p>I'm starting to think this tree isn't so natural anymore.</p><p>What was inside this mysterious white void caught my attention.</p><p>It looked a lot like a book.</p><p>I took it out. It was extremely dusty. I blew on the dust, revealing the cover of the book.</p><p>It was really weird. It had a golden hand on it with the number three sprawled on it. Hmm….</p><p>Then a millipede walked along the front cover, and I lost it.</p><p>I fell off the branch again.</p><p>When I got back up I picked up the book, making sure the millipede went away. It did. I looked back up at the tree, and it whirred and clicked until it went back to its original state.</p><p>What the heck just happened.</p><p>I look back at the book again, and I decided to open it to the front cover.</p><p>June 18th, 1986.<br/>
I have come to a conclusion where I'm no longer safe in this town known as Gravity Falls. I have been betrayed, and constructed a device that may threaten our entire existence as humans. I have already hidden my other works, and must hide this before he finds it. I fear greatly of the mistakes I've made, and fear even more of the end of the world.</p><p>If there's one thing I learned in my exploits in Gravity Falls, it's that no one is what they seem to be, and it's best to trust no one, sometimes not even yourself. If anyone is reading this, it's probably already too late. Save yourself while you can and put it back, or -</p><p>Or what?</p><p>This book is intriguing. And today’s June 18th as well. Exactly 30 years ago. That's freaky. I turn the page.</p><p>What?</p><p>It's like some type of Ghostbusters book. It has all weird sorts of paranormal creatures. Like the loblin (goblins with lobster claws) and a picture of a Sasquatch that looks almost identical to Danny Devito.</p><p>Come to think of it, I would want to see that.</p><p>But on almost every single page repeats the words “trust no one.”</p><p>“Trust no one…” I say to myself.</p><p>“Heyo!” Said Mabel right behind me, scaring the crap out of me.</p><p>I let out a shrill scream.</p><p>Mabel laughed at me. “What's that you got there? Some kind of dictionary or nerd book?”</p><p>“It's nothing.”</p><p>“It's nothing.” Said Mabel, imitating me. “You're not gonna show me?”</p><p>I sighed. “Let's take this back to our room. It's almost dark.”</p><p>Mabel and I walk back through the woods. Somehow she had managed to videotape my scream out on Snapchat, so that’ll be fun. She kept replaying the clip, slowing it down and speeding it up to change pitches.</p><p>“Hahaha… you're a freak.” Said Mabel.</p><p>“How nice of you.” I said sarcastically. The Mystery Shack came back into sight. Something caught my eye. “Wait… is that a goat?!”</p><p>“Yeah, say hello to Gompers.” Said Mabel, petting the goat. The goat threw up.</p><p>“Wow! You're almost as disgusting as Dipper!” Said Mabel hopefully jokingly. I rolled my eyes.</p><p>I go in the Shack.</p><p>“Exactly forty-three seconds late mister.” Said Grunkle Stan from the tv room, watching what looks like a soap opera.</p><p>“Mabel’s later.” I retort.</p><p>“You're still late.” Said Stan. “Now shut up, I heard this part’s really good.”</p><p>I roll my eyes and head upstairs to the attic.</p><p>I plop down on my bed and start reading the journal again.</p><p>Gnomes? Unicorns? Zombies? There’s another mention of the Danny Devito Sasquatch. This doesn't seem like a nonfiction book. Well, I'll have to see if it's real or not tomorrow.</p><p>Tomorrow.</p><p>I check my phone. 8:24. I don't feel like staying up till midnight tonight.</p><p>I go and brush my teeth and go into my bed. I pull out my phone.</p><p>Time for my daily dose of memes.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>After checking out some memes, I opened up the book again. I took out one of my handy dandy pens and begin writing in one of the blank pages near the back of the book.</p><p>June 18th, 2016<br/>
Today’s my first day in Gravity Falls, and so far I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary, but this journal tells me it's quite the opposite. I'll have to investigate this further.</p><p>I closed the book and put it inside my suitcase under the bed. No one will ever think about finding it there. Unless it's the goat. He already went through an entire bag of chips I stashed away.</p><p>I checked my phone again. 9:19. Whatever, time for bed. I turn my phone off and plug it into the charger and turn off the lantern I use as my light.</p><p>Good night, Gravity Falls.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>I’m up bright and early today. Not because I'm starting my investigation early, but I've got to go to work today. Yippee.</p><p>I dressed into my usual Superman t-shirt and cargo shorts and headed downstairs.</p><p>“Grunkle Stan, why do you have to wake us up at 8? The Shack opens at 11.” I ask as I head downstairs.</p><p>“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a person like you have really good eyes.” Muttered Stan as he started making breakfast for both of us.</p><p>“That's not right at all.” I said as I grabbed the newspaper and a cup of orange juice. “And you're the one who has glasses.”</p><p>Grunkle Stan grunted and continued cooking.</p><p>I rolled my eyes and looked at the paper, sipping my orange juice.</p><p>A certain article caught my attention and made me spit the orange juice out. I jumped out of my seat. “I have to check this out!” And I sprinted out of the door before Grunkle Stan would even react.</p><p>I sprint into the woods and pull out the journal.</p><p>That was undeniably easy. Almost too easy.</p><p>So what should I look at first in the book to prove that it's true?</p><p>Like all other books, it's probably a good idea to start in the beginning.</p><p>I flip to the first page. Loblin.</p><p>On second thought…</p><p>Nope. I'll do that later. Plus those things freak me out. I flip to the next page.</p><p>My research lab</p><p>Bingo.</p><p>Only problem is where is it? Good thing I got all day to find it.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>After two full hours of searching , I found the entrance of the lab. The trapdoor was hidden inside a bush, and after punching the code, I headed down.</p><p>Ouch.</p><p>That was a really thorny bush.</p><p>Now I've got little cuts all over my body to worry about. How am I gonna explain this to Grunkle Stan? Maybe I should head back.</p><p>No. Then this is gonna nag my head until I go and explore.</p><p>I'm not leaving. Not now.</p><p>I continued down the ladder. It got dark very quickly. Thank god I have my phone. I turned it on flashlight mode and examined my surroundings.</p><p>It's very dusty here.</p><p>It looked like a small room, like a studio, but with science involved.</p><p>That's a dumb way to describe it.</p><p>I take a few steps and investigate. First I look at a control panel and notice a mug of coffee. I dip my finger in the mug. Ice cold. I put that finger in my mouth.</p><p>I spat. More bitter than Grunkle Stan.</p><p>“Eugh! Gross!” I say, my voice echoing in the room.</p><p>Then the flashlight went out, and my phone flashed grey, then plain black.</p><p>Crap. Mabel stole my charger last night. I'll get her for that later.</p><p>But the thing is, it’s pitch black in here. I fumble on the control panel for a light switch. I find one switch and flicked it.</p><p>Self destruct sequence in 10...9...8…</p><p>“Jesus Christ!” I say out loud before undoing that switch, thankfully stopping the countdown. I fumble for another switch.</p><p>Who would even put a button there like that anyway?</p><p>Huzzah. The lights are on. I let go of my breath. I turn around and looked at other documents with the same handwriting as the author of the journal.</p><p>Warning! Shards are unstable! Warning! Shard are unstable! Some speaker blared.</p><p>I whip my head around to the control panel. Shards? That reminds me of something in the journal when I was skimming through it last night.</p><p>I turn to the journal and flipped through the pages. Aha! Shards!</p><p>Shards<br/>
In my research, the shards can easily be the most dangerous and mysterious items I've ever encountered. I've tested the radiation against dead animals, and have seen many strange attributes attained to the animals. I fear of what these shards will do to human victims, and I have decided to put them carefully in cryogenic chambers and discontinue my research on it. One of my biggest fears of the shards is the question of where did they come from? Are they of extraterrestrial origin? Are they formed from prehistoric weather patterns? Or are the shards only a piece of a bigger chunk?</p><p>Just my luck. I look at the page again.</p><p>If the cryogenic chambers were ever to malfunction and make the shards unstable, honestly I don't know what could happen. I bet it's not good. This will most likely never happen, so I'm not worried.</p><p>Ugh, this guy.</p><p>I look at the control board. What do I do?</p><p>Warning! Shards are in critical condition! Warning!</p><p>Crap. I duck under the control panel.</p><p>System meltdown! System meltdown!</p><p>I hear glass shatter. A red glow illuminates from where the shards would be.</p><p>Well, I'm in a predicament.</p><p>The ground started shaking violently. This caused me to jump up. Not a good idea.<br/>
That's when I see the shards. Three of them. Glowing radiantly. So pretty.</p><p>I can already feel myself absorbing the radiation. It's making me sick to my stomach. I instantly vomit. I accidentally press a button on the control panel.</p><p>Escape pod sequence initiated.</p><p>Everything’s spinning. I took too much radiation. I feel myself being pulled into some sort of metal sphere. I can't move. All my energy is sapped.</p><p>I feel the entire sphere being shot up into the sky.</p><p>I dry heaved and got back on my feet. The radiation has obviously done something to me.</p><p>Escape pod malfunction! Escape pod malfunction!</p><p>Man, today is not my day.</p><p>Suddenly, the pod starts splitting and opening up. A lot of air comes in, making it hard to breathe. Then I realized.</p><p>I'm in the sky. And my only means of survival is splitting in half.</p><p>In case you're wondering, that's not good.</p><p>Crap. Wait. A parachute!</p><p>I reach for it.</p><p>The pod splits into two. I fall out of the pod, free falling.</p><p>And to add other measures on that, the two halves explode, most likely incinerating the parachute.</p><p>Oh crap.</p><p>What am I going to do?</p><p>I'm falling at an alarming rate.</p><p>It's alright, it's just a dream. It's gotta be. What else would explain it?</p><p>I try pinching myself.</p><p>Ow.</p><p>Crap.</p><p>I smack my own face.</p><p>Ow again.</p><p>Double crap.</p><p>This isn't a dream. This is real life.</p><p>The horror of the situation pumped adrenaline through me, speeding up my heart rate.</p><p>There's nothing I can do about this.</p><p>I'm going to die.</p><p>My breathing rate accelerated significantly. I'm about to pass out.</p><p>I just fell through clouds, and now I can see Gravity Falls.</p><p>I'm no mathematician, but I calculate I have about thirty seconds till I splat wherever I land.</p><p>My stupid mind is trying to figure out a way out of this debacle. The inside of my head says I'm going to die.</p><p>I can feel my skin start to heat up. I'm becoming a meteor.</p><p>The ground becomes bigger and bigger in my sight.</p><p>With the last seconds before the impact, I let out a scream that I would never have been proud of in any other scenario. In one last, useless effort, I put my arms in front of my face for protection.</p><p>
  <strong>THUNK</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter will be part 2 of this episode. If you liked what you read so far, please give me some feedback, thanks!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Pilot: Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is part 2 of the aforementioned pilot. Enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ouch….</p><p>Everything hurts. </p><p>Wait.</p><p>How… how did I survive?</p><p>I fell at least fifteen thousand feet. How did I survive? I weakly get up. </p><p>I made a mess.</p><p>Wherever I landed, I made a decently sized crater.</p><p>This is a lot to process. What in blazes just happened the last half hour? I look down at myself.</p><p>Oh crap.</p><p>Grunkle Stan is gonna throw a fit if he sees me like this.</p><p>My clothes are all tatters, and burned, probably from the flying shrapnel from the explosion up there. But aside from the little aches and pains, I'm perfectly fine. </p><p>But how?</p><p>I decide that that's enough adventuring for today. I walk home.</p><p>The same thought swarm my mind. How am I alive? What had the shards done to me? Am I going to die from the exposure? Or is nothing gonna change? Who knows.</p><p>I'm not walking with a limp at all, which is basically a miracle considering what I just went through.</p><p>I still barely believe it. I survived what only few have ever done without suffering a single scratch. Not that anyone would want to try it.</p><p>Of course if it weren't for the shards, I'd be a dead man. Or teen, should I say.</p><p>“Where's Dipper?” Said Mabel…?</p><p>I jumped. That sounded really close. I quickly turned my head around. </p><p>There was no Mabel anywhere.</p><p>That's really odd… I could have sworn I heard her as if she was right behind me.</p><p>I wonder…</p><p>I know. I'm hallucinating from the radiation of the shards or whatever. That's the only logical explanation for this.</p><p>Then again… this is the same town with a Sasquatch that looks like Danny Devito.</p><p>I feel really strange. I should be exhausted, but I feel more energized now than any other point in my life, and that's really hard to beat.</p><p>I finally reach the Shack.</p><p>I look at the house, scanning for any signs of Grunkle Stan so I can quickly change my clothes before he notices.</p><p>Then suddenly the Shack disappears and I see both Mabel and Grunkle Stan. Somehow Mabel’s standing two stories in the air.</p><p>I know for sure I must be hallucinating now. </p><p>What is going on with me?</p><p>I quietly step into the Shack and avoid Grunkle Stan until I come up into the attic. I try to open the door as silently as I could, but Mabel noticed me, but didn't turn around.</p><p>“Grunkle Stan was looking for you.” She said. “I had to work double.”</p><p>I could tell with her tone that she was thoroughly annoyed with my abrupt absence.</p><p>“Sorry, Mabes, something popped up.” I say as I throw the journal on my bed. She turned around, to my dismay, before I was able to change clothes.</p><p>Mabel gave me a shocked look and gasped. “What happened to you? You look like you've been put through a paper shredder!” She still cares about me. That's a good sister there.</p><p>“Look, it's a long story, and I don't want you to worry about me.”</p><p>“And what's up with that book again? You never told me about that thing last night.”</p><p>I bite my tongue. I really don't want to stress her out about the incident at the lab. Plus the journal told me to trust no one. But she's my sister, and she deserves the right to know.</p><p>I sigh. “I can't keep this from you any longer, so I guess. Just gimme a second to change. I don't want Grunkle Stan to think I was in a fight.”</p><p>“Whatever you say.” Said Mabel, turning around so I can change. “That was one of your favorite shirts, Dipper. You’ve loved that Superman shirt.”</p><p>I chuckled. “No shirt lasts forever. Although it was one of my favorites, I still got plenty others.”</p><p>“Maybe I should make you one.” said Mabel.</p><p>I put another shirt on. “Mabel, that’s a really nice offer, but you honestly don’t have to.” I said, turning around, revealing to her a Superman shirt that’s basically identical to the torn one.</p><p>“You wear almost the same thing every day. What’s the fun in that?”</p><p>“I don’t wear the same thing every day! I just have one particular taste.”</p><p>“Whatever. I’m making you a shirt. Now tell me about that red book.”</p><p>“Fine. It was the craziest thing that happened last night. I was going for a walk, then suddenly a pack of wolves came, and I hid, but pulled a lever, revealing a fake tree with this book in there. Look!” I showed her the book, with the Loblin and that Sasquatch that looks like Danny Devito.</p><p>Mabel sighed. “Dipper, this is just some kind of character encyclopedia to those nerd shows you watch. And the illustrator has a weird fascination with Danny Devito.”</p><p>“I’m not kidding! I already proved it was real today with the author’s lab!” </p><p>Crap. I shouldn’t have said that.</p><p>“Author’s lab?” said Mabel.</p><p>“Anyway, I know it’s real and I can finally prove that something weird’s going on in this town.” I was desperate to change the subject. “I've always had a feeling something's happening right under our noses here.”</p><p>“No no no… what about this author’s lab?” said Mabel. She’s got her serious voice on. I’m in big trouble.</p><p>“It’s nothing.”</p><p>“It’s nothing my butt. What happened? Is that the reason you were so beat up?”</p><p>“No, it’s just I-”</p><p>Mabel gave me The Glare. I froze. Then I sighed.</p><p>“Yes, that’s the reason my clothes are shreds.”</p><p>“I knew it. Well why the hell did you do that?”</p><p>“I already said it. To prove the journal is real.”</p><p>“Well what kind of hell did you go through to prove that?”</p><p>No turning back now. I have to tell her. I’ve always been a terrible liar.</p><p>“You’re gonna have to sit down on this one. It’s a very long story.”</p><p>“You already said that.”</p><p>“Stop being impatient and let me tell the story.”</p><p>. . . .</p><p>“So you’re telling me you’re basically radioactive?” asked Mabel right after I summed up my adventure today.</p><p>“Well, maybe. I don’t even know.” I replied.</p><p>“And the fact that you fell fifteen thousand feet and survived unharmed is a load of hogwash to me.” she added.</p><p>“I’m not lying! You know I’m a terrible liar!”</p><p>“Then… how did you survive? If what you said is true, you should be a smear on the ground.”</p><p>“The thing is I don’t know. Look.” I opened the journal to the lab page with the shards. “It says it’s so dangerous the author didn’t even test the radiation on dead humans, so he didn't even think about testing live humans.”</p><p>“Why didn’t you listen to the book?”</p><p>“The place was about to blow up.”</p><p>“And how did you do that?”</p><p>“I pressed the wrong button.”</p><p>“Boy are you living up to your reputation of destroying things.” said Mabel.</p><p>“Shut up! If anything, you do that!” She did have a point to that.</p><p>“But not this time.” she stuck her tongue out at me.</p><p>She can be so immature.</p><p>“Laugh all you want, but as in status for the summer I'm way cooler than you, but get this, after the crash, I had these weird side effects. I figured I was hallucinating in shock.”</p><p>“Well what did you hallucinate?”</p><p>“Well, though I was half a mile from the Shack, I heard you say ‘Where’s Dipper?’ and when I came up to the Shack, the building disappeared and you were standing on nothing twenty feet in the air. Creepy, huh?”</p><p>“Nah, you must’ve been hallucinating. There’s no way that can happen.”</p><p>“I know, but it felt so real.”</p><p>“I bet you’re just having a stressful first full day here, that’s all.”</p><p>“No. Something big happened to me today.”</p><p>“Hearing me from half a mile and seeing me through a building. That sounds like someone’s trying to be his favorite superhero.” said Mabel.</p><p>“I’m not lying just to make it seem like I’ve become Superman!” I spit. “Why would I lie about this?! I just told you seconds ago, I'm a terrible liar!”</p><p>“You’ve done it before.”</p><p>“Mabel, I was seven.”</p><p>“Still, this story doesn’t seem as convincing, even if it is true.”</p><p>“You don’t trust me?”</p><p>“Unless you somehow prove me that it’s true, I won’t believe.”</p><p>“Fine. I’ll show you I’m not fibbing.”</p><p> </p><p>“And how will you prove that?”</p><p>“I’ll find a way.”</p><p>“Hmph.” Mabel walked away, giving me a competitive glare.</p><p>Why doesn’t anyone believe me? Grunkle Stan would believe me.</p><p> </p><p>No he wouldn’t.</p><p>I sigh and fall on my bed.</p><p>How can I possibly prove her?</p><p>Ugh… though I don’t feel tired at all, I feel myself going to sleep.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>I suddenly woke up and popped my eyes open. I sat up.</p><p>And I banged my head against the ceiling of the attic…?</p><p>This day just brings more and more surprises.</p><p>What the heck?</p><p>“Mabel! Mabel! You’ve gotta see this!” I said in fascination. I can’t believe it. I’m actually levitating.</p><p>Mabel nonchalantly comes into the room. “What do you want?” Then she looks up and finds me up there. I wave to her. “Why are you up there?”</p><p>“No, wait. Watch!” I said. I show her my hands and my feet, which are clearly not against any part of the support of the attic.</p><p>“Stop playing games with me, Dipper. We both know you’re using a cable. Get down here.” </p><p>“I also have a way to prove you that the effects of the shards are true.”</p><p>“Fascinating. Now get down or I’ll cut the cable for you.” said Mabel.</p><p>I razzed at her. “Come and get me, Pines.”</p><p>Mabel sighed. “I hate it when you act stupid like this.” she said as she started climbing up to where I am. I pretend to hold onto the beam on the ceiling.</p><p>“I’ll go far away, and have you tell Wendy, Soos or whoever some type of question and I’ll text you the answer within a minute.”</p><p>“That actually sounds fair. I’ll take that bet. No cheating! Nobody will call you at all!” she said, finally meeting me at the ceiling. “What the- there’s no cable!”</p><p>I take my hand from the beam, and I let myself fall on my bed.</p><p>“I must’ve been hallucinating!” said Mabel. “For a second it looked like you were flying!”</p><p>“We’re still doing that bet. Bet you five bucks I’m telling the truth.” I say.</p><p>“Deal.” said Mabel, shaking my hand.</p><p>“It’s settled.” I said, going to the window in the attic.</p><p>“What’re you doing?”</p><p>“Mabel, I don’t know if it’s destiny or just sheer dumb luck, but I’ve been given a gift. It’s best to control it as soon as possible.” I leapt out of the attic.</p><p>“Dipper, you idiot, you’ll get yourself killed!” said Mabel from the window. Time to give her a heart attack.</p><p>At the last second, I pull myself up, levitating. With a little difficulty, I raise myself up to the window.</p><p>Mabel fainted.</p><p>Not really surprised at that.</p><p>After a few minutes, I woke her up.</p><p>“Please tell me I’m hallucinating.” she said.</p><p>I gave her a goofy grin. “That was real as you and me. Now if you excuse me, I’ve got a bet to win.” Once again, I zoom out of the Shack, and with a little bit of difficulty again, I fly off deep into the woods. Not into the town. Though they’re oblivious, they’re not that oblivious.</p><p>It’s pretty hard flying. I don’t know how Superman does it.</p><p>Wait.</p><p>If I’m able to fly, hear from far away, and see through buildings, am I really becoming my favorite superhero? And doesn’t he have heat vision, freeze breath, and super strength?</p><p>Why is this making me giddy? This is impossible!</p><p> I’ll be a freak! Even more than I was!</p><p>Whatever. First I’ve got a bet to win. Then I’ll worry about this.</p><p>I stop and land down on the forest floor. </p><p>I try my best to hear Mabel’s voice in my head. I could hear a woodpecker pecking from a distance away and the sound of what sounds like a marching band practicing their show for halftime.</p><p>They don’t sound very good.</p><p>I try harder.</p><p>“Hey Grunkle Stan, did you know that the first word I’ve ever said was unicorn?” said Mabel from a mile away. I smiled. I got her. I pull out my phone.</p><p>No bars.</p><p>Crap.</p><p>How can I win this challenge now? I look up to the trees as a bird flies by.</p><p>Wait, I can get up past the tree line. Smart thinking, Dipper. Use your gift.</p><p>The top of the tree, of course!</p><p>I fly up to the top of the nearest tree. Wow. I’m already getting the hang of flying. I rest on top of the tree and whip my cell phone out again. </p><p>I texted Mabel.</p><p>The first word you’ve ever said was unicorn. I clicked send. Delivered.</p><p>I should head back. </p><p>I’ll do that after I test something out.</p><p>I go back to the ground and pick up a pinecone. I stared at the pinecone intensely, concentrating. Just when I was about to give it up, a small spark erupted on the pinecone. I was so surprised that I dropped it.</p><p>I picked it up again and tried again. Almost instantly I set the thing ablaze.</p><p>I gasped. I was out of control for a second there. I dropped the pinecone. In panic I blew at the pinecone and it became a chunk of ice.</p><p>I backed myself up. I can’t be around anyone until I figure out how to control these powers. I look at the trees behind me. Unintentionally, my heat vision acted up and cut the tree in half. I gasped again and went to grab the tree.</p><p>I wrapped my arms around the trunk as it was staggering. For extra grip I squeezed the trunk.</p><p>The trunk, which is about four feet in diameter, splintered into millions of pieces, destroying the tree. I loose my balance and fall on my butt. I skittered backward from where the tree once stood.</p><p>I…</p><p>I’m a monster. How can I protect society if I can’t even protect myself from me?</p><p>I put my hand in my knees and I silently weep.</p><p>This isn’t a great thing at all.</p><p>I’m never going to be normal again.</p><p>I’ll be a freak. I’ll be no one’s friend.</p><p>Even my own twin sister Mabel will shun me away.</p><p>I wish I never went into that stupid laboratory.</p><p>I wish I never found that stupid journal. </p><p>I wish I was naive just like everyone else in this stupid town.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>Sulking time’s over.</p><p>I force myself back up and force myself to look at what I’ve done carelessly to that tree.</p><p>I’ve learned my lesson.</p><p>I have to keep the thought of controlling my powers in my mind at all times. I don’t want to hurt anyone.</p><p>It’s time to head back.</p><p>I’ll walk this time. Enough superpowers for today.</p><p>Though it took a lot longer, I trudged back to the welcoming sight of the Mystery Shack. I couldn’t help but smile. I’ve had a very long day and could use the smart comments of Grunkle Stan. I walk into the Shack.</p><p>“There you are. Where’ve ya been? You’ve been missing all day!” said Grunkle Stan as I closed the door behind me.</p><p>“Let’s just say that the woods was calling my name.”</p><p>“Call of the Wild, heh?” said Grunkle Stan.</p><p>Good book. I highly recommend it.</p><p>“Something like that.” I responded.</p><p>“You’re probably really hungry.” offered Stan, pointing his thumb to the kitchen, where something on the stove is on fire.</p><p>Honestly, I’m not hungry at all, even though I haven’t eaten since breakfast. But he might gain suspicion if I don’t comply. Plus I could go for some bonding time.</p><p>“You know I was worried. I went on a little walk in the woods, then I smelled smoke… forest fires are more common here than you’d think.” said Grunkle Stan. “Please be careful out there. I don’t care if you’re freaking Superman. Be careful.”</p><p>Him saying Superman like that made me freeze. I know he doesn’t know, but that gave me a small heart attack.</p><p>“Ok, Grunkle Stan.” I reply.</p><p>Grunkle Stan leaned into me and sniffed.</p><p>“Yeah, you smell a little like ash. Go take a shower before you stink up the whole house. Also wipe your face, Dripper.” Stan pretended to wipe his nose in indication.</p><p>Taking his hint, I wiped my nose and found a glistening red stain. Blood. Ew. I start heading up the staircase to get cleaned up.</p><p>“Wait, didn’t you have a different shirt on?” called Grunkle Stan after me.</p><p>“No.” I lied.</p><p>Grunkle Stan shrugged and went back into the kitchen. I stayed on the staircase just long enough to hear the clanging of pots and pans and Grunkle Stan having a cursing fit.</p><p>Ya gotta love the guy.</p><p>I trudged back upstairs into the attic to find Mabel on her phone.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, see you too. It was nice meeting you. Bye.” said Mabel as she hung up her phone.</p><p>“Was that mom and dad?” I ask.</p><p>Mabel giggled. “Maybe, maybe not.”</p><p>I raised my eyebrow. Mabel giggled again and I shrugged my shoulders.</p><p>“Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes.” I told her while she texted on her phone.</p><p>“Uh huh.” she said, not putting the phone down.</p><p>“Who are you talking to?”</p><p>“No one.” she answered very quickly.</p><p>I’d interrogate her further, but I’ve got a shower to take.</p><p>“Fifteen minutes.” I reminded her.</p><p>“Yeah yeah, go take a shower you smelly boy.” said Mabel, not taking her eyes of the phone. After what it looks like reading a text, she blushed.</p><p>She’s texting a boy. I didn’t need to use my detective skills to know that.</p><p>I take off my shirt and head into the bathroom.</p><p>I obviously don’t need to describe how I took the shower.</p><p>After taking the shower, I head back out into the attic, where Mabel lay. She didn’t move a muscle.</p><p>“You should really go downstairs before Grunkle Stan throws a fit.” I say, putting a new shirt on. “Go tell the boy you’re texting that you’re eating dinner.”</p><p>Sne snapped at me. “I’m not texting a boy!”</p><p>“I doubt that.”</p><p>“You don’t know that.”</p><p>“Mabel, the evidence is there.”</p><p>“You have no proof.”</p><p>“Now I do.” I say as I playfully use my super speed (until now I didn’t know I had that) and swipe her phone from her.</p><p>“Hey! Give that back!” said Mabel.</p><p>“Only if you stop talking to the guy until after dinner.”</p><p>“You can’t blackmail me!”</p><p>I look at her phone. “I love you, Mabel.” I say in a dreamy voice, dancing around like a ballerina.</p><p>“Shut up!” fussed Mabel, trying to get the phone from my grasp.</p><p>I gasped. “You know who would love to hear this? I bet Grunkle Stan would be more than happy to know about this.”</p><p>“I’m serious Dipper. Give me my phone back or I’ll...I’ll…”</p><p>“You’ll what?”</p><p>“Or I’ll tell him you have the journal and superpowers.”</p><p>I froze.</p><p>“Mabel, you can’t do that.” I said in a serious tone. “The last thing I need is him verbally assaulting me calling me a freak.”</p><p>“Or would it be even better for me to tell Wendy?” said Mabel. We both know she has me.</p><p>“You will not tell anyone of the sort.” I say angrily.</p><p>“I won’t tell if you give me back my phone.”</p><p>“I’ll give you the phone back if you stop texting that guy for the rest of the night.”</p><p>“The rest of the night? Are you crazy?”</p><p>“No, I’m Dipper.”</p><p>Mabel groaned. “Please don’t start with the dad jokes. Grunkle Stan already does enough of that.”</p><p>I smile. “Oh does he?”</p><p> </p><p>“Crap.” said Mabel. She released very useful information. “Give me my phone!” She tried again.</p><p>“Ah ah ah! Not until you agree not to text the guy. For the rest of the night.” I say.</p><p>Mabel groaned. “Fine. Deal.” She shook hands with me.</p><p>“Oh and that reminds me. I'll have my five dollars now.” I say, holding my hand out. Mabel quietly cursed and fished a five out of her pocket. She forked it over to me. I smelled the crisp dollar before pocketing it. “Nothing smells better than profit.”</p><p>“Did somebody say profit?” Said Grunkle Stan as he entered our room. “No? Just me? Anyway, dinner’s ready knuckleheads. So it's probably a good idea to go downstairs.” He left after that.</p><p>“I sure hope Grunkle Stan’s better at making spaghetti than French toast.” Said Mabel.</p><p>“Amen to that.” I agree.</p><p>We heard a muffled “I heard that!” From downstairs. We giggled. I started heading down the stairs, until Mabel grabbed my arm.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Aren't you gonna actually tell anybody about your…thing?” Said Mabel.</p><p>“No way. Not yet for sure. They'll be scared of me. As if I'm not scary enough already.” I said.</p><p>“I'm serious Dipper. This is too big for it to go right over their heads. They're gonna find out sooner or later.”</p><p>She's right. They're not idiots. They will find out. But I just got here yesterday. I'm already an outcast. I just want to fit in for once. This is the one place I can have a fresh start. I can actually fit in for once.</p><p>I don't know if it's destiny or dumb luck, but it seems everything's trying to prevent me from being normal. It's working obviously for everything but me. </p><p>Oh well. What can I do?</p><p>“Let's just not worry about that now and spend some time with the guys.” I said. It certainly looked like that cheered her up.</p><p>“Suit yourself, ya dork.” She playfully punched me in the shoulder and headed downstairs.</p><p>I smile.</p><p>I love her to death.</p><p>I follow her down to supper. Once we hit the bottom of the stairs we could already smell burnt food. We walk into the dining room which also was the TV room.</p><p>“Way to join us you two knuckleheads.” Said Grunkle Stan, who was oddly wearing a chef’s hat on top of his fez. </p><p>Joining us at the dinner table was Wendy and Soos.</p><p>“Sup dawg?” said Soos as I sat down next to him.</p><p>“Howdy.” I said awkwardly.</p><p>Soos looked a little uncomfortable, which made me a little sad.</p><p>“I heard you like video games.” I started. “I like video games too… maybe we should play sometime…”</p><p>Soos’s face lightened up like a Christmas Tree. “How’d you know that I love video games?”</p><p>“I have my resources.” I said cheerfully, winking at Mabel, who winked back.</p><p>“So what do you like… the classics or the new games?” asked Soos, mesmerised by the fact that we shared something in common.</p><p>“I admit… I love Madden… but who doesn’t love Tetris and Pac-Man?”</p><p>“Tetris and Pac-Man? Yo dude, there’s an arcade downtown with those games there. You and I should go sometime.”</p><p>“Heck yeah, I’d love to do that!” I reply.</p><p>“Yeah, dude! Just ask Mr. Pines to pay your salary in quarters!” Said Soos with a chuckle.</p><p>I fake scoff. “Grunkle Stan only pays me 75 cents a day!” I say jokingly.</p><p>Soos chuckled. “You're not that bad, Dipper.”</p><p>“Right back at you, Soos.” I say. I look over across the table and see Mabel and Wendy yakking it up. Mabel somehow found two bendy straws and stuck them up her nose.</p><p>She held out her hand and separated her fingers like Spock. “Greetings, human. I am from France.” Wendy giggled and so did Mabel.</p><p>God, does Wendy look hot when she giggles.</p><p>Note to self, be funnier.</p><p>She's as good as mine. Muahahahhaha…</p><p>Grunkle Stan entered the room carrying a pot with an oven mitt. He's still wearing the chef hat on top of his fez. He grunted a word that I assumed meant “dinner” but for a second I thought he said “Dipper.” He plopped the pot on the table and lifted the lid, revealing a tub of mac and cheese.</p><p>Soos nodded his head. “Tonight we dine on the finest cuisine…” He then pretended to pose like Master Yoda.</p><p>Wendy laughed at that statement. “Soos. You're hilarious.” She took a wooden spoon and dug a heap and splattered it in her bowl.</p><p>“I try by best.” blushed Soos, giving himself a serving of the cheesy goodness.</p><p>“Grunkle Stan, why did it take you so long to make just mac and cheese?” I asked innocently.</p><p>Grunkle Stan burped and squinted at me. “What are you, a cop?” He asked suspiciously. I raised my eyebrow mainly in confusion.</p><p>“Oh, right.” said Wendy, slapping herself in the face. “I forgot to tell you guys, but Mr. Pines tends to break the law… all the time.”</p><p>“Believe me, Wendy. I already figured that out.” I said.</p><p>“Wow… my great uncle’s a criminal. Cool!” said Mabel, high fiving Grunkle Stan, who seems oddly proud of this.</p><p>For a little while, we ate in peace. The mac and cheese was alright, but somehow the old man managed to slightly burn the mac and cheese. How is that possible? It’s another mystery in this spooky town that I’ll need to investigate.</p><p>After dinner, Wendy left for home and it was just Mabel, Soos, Grunkle Stan and me sitting in the TV room watching “Ducktective.”</p><p>“Wow… this show is faker than Dipper’s masculinity!” commented Mabel after watching another abysmal special effect attempt.</p><p>Grunkle Stan bursted out in laughter. “Oh boy, do I like your style, kiddo.” he said, rubbing her head. “You and I are destined for greatness. Perfect at insults!”</p><p>“Double the points when insulting Dipper!” exclaimed Mabel.</p><p>“An unstoppable force!” bellowed Grunkle Stan.</p><p>“Hi, I’m Dipper, and I’m super paranoid. Everything’s not what they seem. Oooohhh, Gravity Falls is a spooky town.” Mabel attempted to mimic my voice.</p><p>“Heh. The only creepy part about this town is the people!” said Grunkle Stan.</p><p>“Very classy.” I say. “But come on, guys. Are you serious that you don’t see these strange things?”</p><p>“Those are citizens, Dipper.” said Grunkle Stan.</p><p>“I’m not joking! Every time I walk in the woods I feel that something’s watching me.” I shudder and get goosebumps as I say this.</p><p>“Kid, those are just stupid folk tales to get me to sell my merchandise to gullible meatheads.” said Grunkle Stan.</p><p>“Those people are called ‘customers.’” added Soos.</p><p>I got quiet, unable to respond to any of that.</p><p>A little while later, Grunkle Stan headed back into the kitchen as Mabel went to the bathroom, leaving me and Soos alone.</p><p>“Soos, am I just crazy about all the weird stuff going on in this town?”</p><p>“Nah dude, I believe you. I always notice weird stuff going on in this town. Have you seen the mailman? Dude, he’s gotta be a werewolf or something!”</p><p>“Soos, the mailman’s Irish. Irish people tend to be hairy.” called Stan from the kitchen.</p><p>“A likely excuse.” Soos said. “I’ve read it somewhere that 86% of all werewolves are Irish.”</p><p>“Well, I’m glad I’m not the only one to think about this.” I said in relief.</p><p>“Truth to that, brother. But here’s the thing… you can’t go around telling people about these things without solid concrete evidence. Otherwise the townsfolk are gonna think you’re as crazy as that nutjob McGucket.”</p><p>“I’ve heard legends of that McGucket.” I silently add. “But how am I gonna prove this?”</p><p>“Well sometimes the answers to our problems are right under our noses.” said Soos.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Go ahead. Check.”</p><p>I check under my nose. “Soos, there’s nothing there.”</p><p>“This time the answers are not under our noses.” Soos concluded, closing his eyes. “But seriously dude, you gotta have evidence or else they’ll think you got a screw loose. Ever heard of the Boy Who Cried Cheese Danish?”</p><p>Stan shouted from the kitchen again. “Soos, it’s the Boy Who Cried Wolf.”</p><p>“Again with the wolves.” said Soos, flashing a skeptical look. “Anyway, what the boy saw was true, but he had no proof, so he got eaten alive.”</p><p>“How unfortunate.” I say.</p><p>“Quite, dude. I’ll say this again, you’ve got to have evidence. Like all good crime shows, they have evidence. Remember that.”</p><p>“Thanks for your advice Soos.”</p><p>“Of course, dude. My wisdom is both a blessing, and a curse.” he said hollowly.</p><p>“Soos! The mac and cheese is moving by itself!” shouted Grunkle Stan from the kitchen, along with the clang of pots and pans and Grunkle Stan screaming. This is followed by a loud bang. “Soos! The mac and cheese is eating the trash can again! Aaaggh! And it just ate my golf club!”</p><p>“Just like last week.” Soos narrowed his eyes. “I am needed elsewhere. Carry on, my young friend.” And with that, Soos pulled a toilet plunger out of nowhere and pivoted his hat backwards. “Time to deal with leftovers.” He charged into the kitchen, and after that I heard an inhuman shriek and both Grunkle Stan and Soos screaming.</p><p>Sounds like a good time to go upstairs before I get involved in that fiasco.</p><p>I walked into the attic yet again and saw Mabel on her bed, looking straight up in the ceiling.</p><p>“What're you looking at up there?”</p><p>“I’m just looking… imagining the stars there.” She points at the ceiling. “There’s Draco… and Gemini… and Ursa Major… otherwise known as you.”</p><p>“Mabel that's the ceiling, not the sky.” I reply. “Also that’s pretty sweet.”</p><p>“I'm not an idiot Dipper. I'm not tired at all. I just wanna look at the stars until I fall asleep, you know?” She sighed. “Whatever, you just think I'm crazy.” She rolled over, facing away from me.</p><p>She just wants to see the stars before she sleeps.</p><p>“You want to see the stars?” I ask to confirm.</p><p>“Of course.” she said. “For some reason, I don’t know if it’s destiny or whatever, but I feel connected with the stars, y’know? So why are you asking? Normally you wouldn’t bother to ask.”</p><p>“Well, it’s just that a thought had surfaced in my brain…” I started, unsure of how to put the words together. The only way I could say it would implement romance, and she’d be teasing me forever if that happened.</p><p>“Yeah?” She raised her eyebrow. I can’t say nevermind now. I got her full attention.</p><p>“Well… since I kind of have super powers now… would you like to go with me for a late night flight so you can see the stars?” I asked with a little hesitation.</p><p>Mabel’s eyes lit up like my phone screen when I check it at night. “Dip, I’d love to. Thank you thank you thank you!” She jumped up and down and hugged me tightly. </p><p>“Don’t sweat it.” I reply.</p><p>Mabel practically was bouncing around the walls. “Can we go now? I really wanna go now! Can we go now?” She was really hyperactive. Actually, that was an understatement. She resembled Taz from Looney Tunes.</p><p>“Calm down! I’ll take you in just a sec!” I said, trying to calm her down.</p><p>“Not until you take me to the stars.” She said.</p><p>I sigh. Sometimes it’s useless with her.</p><p>“Fine. We can go now.”</p><p>She squealed in delight. The high pitch hurt my ears. Then again they might be sensitive to those frequencies because of my super hearing. I should keep that in mind.</p><p>“Cool! Let’s go!” said Mabel, heading right to the window.</p><p>“Mabel, wait!” I said, but it was too late. She jumped out of the window.</p><p>Instinctively, I jumped out of the window, flew down, and caught her just in the nick of time before she hit the ground.</p><p>“What the heck were you thinking?!” I said, still holding her before I let her go on the ground.</p><p>Mabel tapped her noggin. “I meant to do that, dummy. Anyway, while we’re out here...”</p><p>“You’re lucky I like you. Come on.” I levitated myself a couple of feet off the ground. She gawked at me. “What?”</p><p>“Nothing. It’s just really weird seeing you being taller than me.” she said.</p><p>“Hilarious. Come on or I’ll put you back in the Shack.”</p><p>“Alright, alright.” she said, and grabbed my hand. I started rising up, and she followed because I held onto her. “Whoa.”</p><p>“Yeah, this puts a new aspect on how you see things.”</p><p>“You're telling me.” She said in amazement. “I've always heard that the nighttime skies in Oregon are absolutely beautiful.” </p><p>“Well…” I started. “What do you think?”</p><p>“By the gods... I have not been disappointed, Dipper.” Replied Mabel.</p><p>“Good.” I reply. While guiding her, I flew up above the trees and just stared at the stars in amazement.</p><p>“Do you ever look up there and wonder if we're the only guys around?” Asked Mabel.</p><p>“I may not know much, but I know that the universe is expanding every second. Other life forms are bound to appear. We aren't the only guys in the universe.”</p><p>“Why do you always have to use science for logic?”</p><p>“Science is everything, Mabel.”</p><p>“You shouldn't rely on science so much. Sometimes you've got to believe in the impossible, especially the scientifically impossible. Weird stuff happens, y’know? I know you don't understand what I've just said, and I know you're probably going to ignore it, but hear me out. Just believe anything can happen.” Said Mabel.</p><p>“...Ok?” I said, thoroughly confused by what she just said. I spent the next few minutes trying to process her words.</p><p>“What do you mean?” I say ten minutes later her initial monologue. She didn't respond. “Mabel?”</p><p>She had fallen asleep.</p><p>I smiled. She looked so peaceful. I yawn. It's time for me to go to bed. As quietly as I could, picked her up and flew back into the Shack’s attic. I layed her silently on her bed and wrapped her blanket around her.</p><p>“Good night, Mabel.” I whispered softly before crawling in my bed and letting sleep consume me.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. The First Adventure: Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The first exploit begins, where Mabel's new boyfriend catches Dipper's attention, for the wrong reasons. Convinced that Mabel is in danger from her boyfriend, Dipper looks for proof that he is not what he seems.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Beep<br/>Beep<br/>Beep<br/>Beep<br/>Beep<br/>Beep<br/>Be-</p><p>I fiddled and pressed the snooze button on my phone.</p><p>“Ughhhh…” I groaned, rubbing the bags under my eyes. </p><p>How late did I stay up? </p><p>I don't remember much after putting Mabel back in her bed, but something tells me I didn't go to bed right after her.</p><p>With much difficulty, I get up and stretch myself, cracking my back. “Oh, that's a lot better.” I utter in satisfaction.</p><p>I yawned and nearly shook the house. That reminds me that I have super powers.</p><p>“Morning, Mabel.” I yawn again while rubbing my eyes, still being groggy from just waking up. I look over to the vacant bed next to me, where Mabel should be. Instantly I became curious of her whereabouts. I head downstairs into the kitchen.</p><p>“Grunkle Stan, do you know where Mabel is?” I asked while pouring myself orange juice and grabbing a slice of toast.</p><p>Stan shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of coffee. “Dunno, kid. Said she had to meet someone.” he flipped over a page of the Gravity Falls Gossip.</p><p>“Grunkle Stan, you’ve got to recognize that that’s even slightly fishy.”</p><p>“What’s fishy is the inflation of cod prices recently. I mean look at this!” Stan replied, munching on toast. “There’s no reason the dumb fish should cost $30 for five pounds! This is ridiculous!”</p><p>“Grunkle Stan, I meant Mab一”</p><p>“I don’t care what you mean, Dipper! There’s something wrong with the fish prices and I’m going to get to the bottom of it!”</p><p>“Well what about the shop?”</p><p>“Soos is a child-man, but he can take care of the Shack.” said Grunkle Stan while putting on his trademark suit and shoes.</p><p>“And where are you going?”</p><p>“I’m not just going to stand here and accept these unreasonable prices, I’m going to fight!” He replied again as he packs his brass knuckles and gloves. “Oh how I missed you two.” he said to the objects. He ran out of the door into the car. I chased after him.</p><p>“Grunkle Stan, you don’t even eat cod!”</p><p>“I’m not always a selfish man, Dipper. When another man wants his cod, he too will be angered at the prices. Sometimes to get ahead in life, you’ve gotta attack the head of a seafood pricing institute and force them to lower prices to get ahead in this crazy game called life.”</p><p>“Grunkle Stan, that doesn’t make any sense!”</p><p>“Just another life lesson for you to learn, my boy! Take care of Soos. I’ll be back very late tonight.” Grunkle Stan said as he backed up and sped away from the Shack, leaving me in the dust.</p><p>I’ve never seen Grunkle Stan so passionate about lowering prices on cod before.</p><p>I walked back into the Gift Shop and headed towards Soos, who was working on the vending machine.</p><p>“Soos, have you seen Mabel at all?”</p><p>Soos turned around, which reveals a banana poking out of his mouth like a cigar. He tried to speak, but choked on the banana.</p><p>“Not even gonna ask.” I say to myself before confronting him again. “Soos, did you by chance see Mabel around anywhere?”</p><p>Soos took out the banana. “Mabel? I think she said she was meeting someone somewhere, why?”</p><p>“How long ago did she go away?”</p><p>“I dunno, about a half hour ago.”</p><p>Rats. Mabel had promised me that she was going to explore with me today.</p><p>“So you don't know where she is?”</p><p>“Look Dipper.” Says Soos as he wraps his arm around me. Oh boy. Another Soos wisdom session. “Women are like prairie dogs.”</p><p>There was a long pause before I finally asked Soos.</p><p>“How are women like prairie dogs?”</p><p>“I don't know. I just think women are very compatible with the critters.”</p><p>“Soos, that has literally nothing to do with this discussion at all.”</p><p>“But wait, there's more!” Interjects Soos. “Mabel is a lot like a prairie dog, my dude. You see, no one really cares about where the prairie dogs are or what they do, they just care about how cute they are. Mabel is generally the same. You see, while you were out in the woods before she went to get you, I got to know her. Remarkable woman, that Mabel. She's a strong, independent character with a great goofy side. Honestly, she would be a great female star in a kid's TV show. But I'm just getting ahead of myself. All I'm saying is that you should stop worrying about her, because she can take care of herself. Enjoy the summer, worry not about your sister. It's not like some apocalyptic situation would happen and endanger her safety.”</p><p>I nodded at Soos, knowing he's right. “That was deep, Soos.”</p><p>“Of course, dude.” Soos replied. He went back to fixing the vending machine. I poured myself a glass of water and started drinking. “Your sister said that she was going to the diner with a boy. Thought you might like to know.”</p><p>I spat out my water. “SHE’S THERE WITH A BOY?!” I blurt out.</p><p>“Yeah, dude. No need to yell.” said Soos.</p><p>“She never told me about this! What if she gets kidnapped? Or mugged? Or even worse… she goes on a date?”</p><p>“Dipper, you are literally doing the opposite of what I had just told you to do thirty seconds ago.”</p><p>“Soos, how could you let this happen?”</p><p>“What do you mean? She's gotta start seeing some boys now.”</p><p>“Didn't you even see the guy she's going with?”</p><p>“Well, uh, no.”</p><p>“Soos! You have to be more careful, especially with Mabel. Now toss me the keys to the golf cart. I'm going down there.”</p><p>“Or you could just wait until she comes back rather than embarrass her in front of the boy…” Soos reluctantly tossed over the keys to the golf cart. He followed me outside as I took a seat in the cart.</p><p>“I'm just doing this for her own good.” I said as I turned the key and started the cart. “Don't set anything on fire, and if you have any questions, go ask Wendy.”</p><p>“One day you'll understand, my friend, but not today.” concluded Soos. “Safe travels.”</p><p>I shrugged and backed up… into the totem pole in the front yard. I inched forward and backed right into it again. “Wait, okay, okay, I got it.” After a while I finally got out of that jam and drove down the road.</p><p>I can't believe it. Mabel with a boy? How is it even possible that she got a boyfriend? We haven't even been here a full two days yet! I don’t know how she does it.</p><p>I park in the parking lot of the diner, and from the spot I still see Mabel yukking it up with someone across from her. She came into eye contact with me through the window and mouthed “Not now.” I simply shook my head and started going in the diner.</p><p>I headed over to her booth. There I saw the boy.</p><p>He looked huge, about six and a half feet, with a black hoodie covering most of his head, only to reveal a little sprawl of unkempt brown hair on top of his pale face. He looked like trouble, and I immediately feel relieved that I was here for her.</p><p>“Mabel, who is this?” I asked.</p><p>“Dipper, this is Lance, my boyfriend. He’s British.” said Mabel. “Lance, this is my brother, Dipper.”</p><p>“Hello.” said Lance in an abnormally deep and dead voice, but distinguished as British.</p><p>“Hi.” I said to Lance. “Do you mind if I have a word with Mabel here?”</p><p>Lance shrugged his shoulders. I take Mabel a good twenty feet from the booth, where Lance sits patiently. Eugh. Just looking at the guy sends a chill down my spine.</p><p>Uh oh. Mabel looks ticked beyond belief.</p><p>“Dipper, what the hell are you doing?” she asks angrily.</p><p>“What am I doing? I’m trying to save you from this creep!” I retort.</p><p>“I’ll have you know that Lance is a very nice guy!”</p><p>“Mabel, I think his skin is peeling off.”</p><p>“He has a skin condition! Please be polite!”</p><p>“Don’t you see how sketchy he looks?”</p><p>“So what if he looks sketchy? It’s the personality that I like.”</p><p>“Gentle reminder that you’ve dated almost fifteen boys already.”</p><p>“Almost all of them were your fault, pea-brain!”</p><p>“I really don’t trust this guy, Mabes.”</p><p>“Dipper. Listen.” Mabel started. “This is our first summer away from home. And I would really like it if you would stop treating me like a little girl!” she poked me in the chest.</p><p>“I’m not treating you like a girl! All I’m saying is you’ve got to be careful here in this town. There’s weird stuff going on.”</p><p>“What the hell does the spooky folk lore of this town have to do with Lance?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“Well… it… uh… I… I don’t know.” I bowed my head, ready for the lecture.</p><p>“Dipper, I’m fifteen years old. Almost sixteen! I can take care of myself without your help.” she sighed. “Look, I appreciate this and all, but I’m… just sick of it now. I can make my own decisions without your help, and maybe you should learn to stay out of other people’s business!” She poked my chest again.</p><p>“Mabel, this is different. I haven’t even met this guy. Of course I’m gonna be protective.”</p><p>“Why can’t you just trust me?” her words echoed through my mind. </p><p>I immediately think of the journal, which had previously told me to trust no one.</p><p>I shake my head before giving in. I sigh. “Okay, Mabel. I’ll try to stay out of this. But first I’m gonna get to know this kid.”</p><p>Mabel groaned. “Do you really have to?”</p><p>“Of course.”</p><p>“Well too bad, cuz later Lance and I are gonna hang out alone and you’re not going to third wheel.”</p><p>“Wait, hold on, that’s not part of the plan.”</p><p>“It is now.” said Mabel, pushing me out of the diner. “Don’t worry about it! If there’s ever trouble, I’ll just yell your name. Now get the hell out of here!”</p><p>She pushed me onto the sidewalk and closed the door. </p><p>That hurt.</p><p>She chose a guy over me, her own brother.</p><p>I head over to the golf cart, defeated. I sat down in the seat, and started looking through the journal to kill some time and treat the sudden depression.</p><p>I flipped through different pages, until one caught my eye. I flipped back to it.</p><p>The Undead<br/>     Although I personally have never conflicted with these creatures but once, the only information I have collected are folk descriptions.<br/>     Usually described as inhumanly tall and slender with pale, peeling skin, defined muscles, slurred speech and unresponsiveness to pain stimuli, these notorious, but deadly creatures prowl in the unknown darkness at night in search of human suffering to feast upon. I know, these folk legends are dark. Usually mistaken as mid-teenagers, these monsters unleash their deadliest trait: undetectability. Beware the dreaded undead.</p><p>I dropped the journal. What an ironic rhyme scheme in that last sentence. Also, all of the description matched with Lance. The tallness, the skinniness, the slurred speech, and these are mistaken as TEENAGERS. This can’t be a coincidence, right?</p><p>I glance at the booth again, and catch Mabel’s unamused glance as she motions her finger to her neck, swiping across it.</p><p>That’s my cue to leave. I immediately started the cart and went on my way.</p><p>The thought never got out of my head. Could my sister really be dating a member of the undead?</p><p>I headed to the Shack, parked the cart, and walked towards the gift shop. I glanced to the right. Not a single car is here, not even Grunkle Stan’s.</p><p>I head into the gift shop. Wendy looks bored out of her skull, and Soos fell asleep on top of the vending machine. The ding of the bell in the gift shop woke them both up.</p><p>“So, how’d it go, champ?” asked Soos.</p><p>I sighed and sat down on the floor against a wall.</p><p>“Body language says it all.” concluded Soos.</p><p>“I think her boyfriend is a zombie.” I blurt out.</p><p>Wendy raised her eyebrows. “Dipper, that’s just how teenagers are. They’re supposed to be like zombies.”</p><p>“I’m gonna have to agree with Wendy, dude. You’re acting very strange today. Why are you so tight? It’s like you got radioactively poisoned with superpowers or something.” said Soos. His sentence froze me. Why do people keep throwing these ideas out so accurately? It’s almost like Soos can read my mind.</p><p>“You just need to learn to chill, Dip.” said Wendy very cooly. “You need to go with the flow.”</p><p>“Not while that creep is dating my sister!” I reply. “Have you seen him? He looks like he just came from the grave!”</p><p>Wendy pondered for a minute. “Oh, you’re probably talking about Lance.”</p><p>I pointed at her. “That’s exactly who I’m talking about! Isn’t he even the slightest bit creepy?”</p><p>Soos laughed. “Dipper, everyone in this town is creepy. Even us, and especially Mr. Pines.”</p><p>“That is probably true, Soos, but I still can’t get this out of my head. This is gonna bother me until I face it.”</p><p>“Or you could just not care.” said Wendy.</p><p>“Maybe you’re right.” I said. After a little pause, I went into a bin in the gift shop and pulled out a camera. I start heading out of the shop before Soos and Wendy asked.</p><p>“Where are you going?” Soos asked.</p><p>“Well, I’m going to do the morally right and mature thing here and go spy on Mabel and her boyfriend. Why?” I said.</p><p>Soos facepalmed. “Dude, if you’re not right, you’ll never hear the end of it.”</p><p>“That’s the thing, Soos.” I reply, heading out the door and sticking my head in the shop one last time. “I know I’m right.” I closed the door and went back into the golf cart. </p><p>Feeling totally like a boss, I take out a pair of shades in the glove compartment and put it on my face. I started the cart, backed up, and stopped.</p><p>“Let’s give ‘im hell.” I said to myself before flooring it down the road.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>I park the cart in the woods surrounding the golf course, as I got the camera ready. I flew onto the tree to look for the two. The jet black of Lance’s sweatshirt stood out completely from the bright greens and fluorescent colors of the golf course.</p><p>I took the camera out. “Now, we sit and watch the evidence happen.”</p><p>. . . .</p><p>I feel so stupid.</p><p>I wasted two hours to find evidence and I haven’t found a significant clue to indicate Lance’s  undead origin (only that he hasn’t blinked and hasn’t eaten at all). The camera also died. I had also fallen out of the tree twice. I drive back home, still confident that Lance is a zombie, but puzzled into how to prove it.</p><p>Soos was right. Unless I have proof, no one will take me seriously.</p><p>I now sit in my room, patiently waiting as the camera takes forever to charge.</p><p>Suddenly, Mabel barges into the room, looking super happy. I look up from my phone.</p><p>“Sup, Dip?” Mabel asked in her usual cheery tone. I was really in a bad mood, so I didn’t reply. She gave me a weird look. “Are you still upset about earlier today?”</p><p>I just stared at her blankly.</p><p>“Oh, come on, Dip! You know I love you and all, I just think you’re being overprotective, which is actually really sweet, but sometimes I need you out of my business, y’know?” I stayed silent, and awkwardness hung in the air. She walked down and sat on the end of my bed. “Is something in your mind?”</p><p>I shook my head, hoping that would get her to stop talking.</p><p>“It’s ok, you can tell me.” Mabel said again. “I’ll listen.”</p><p>“Are you sure?” I said.</p><p>“Of course.” said Mabel, flashing a reassuring smile.</p><p>I took a deep breath. “Ithinkyourboyfriendisazombie.” I said in one breath.</p><p>Mabel looked puzzled. “Say that again, but slower.”</p><p>“I think your boyfriend is a zombie.” I said again as I opened up the journal to the undead page and showed it to her. Mabel kept the puzzled look on her face.</p><p>“What is up with you against Lance?” she asked finally.</p><p>“I believe that you should stay away from him.” I said simply.</p><p>“Why can’t you trust me?” she asked.</p><p>“No, I trust you, I don’t trust him.” </p><p>“Ok, riddle me this: if Lance is a zombie, then tell me why he hasn’t killed me yet?”</p><p>I paused for a moment. That is a good point. “Maybe it’s not the right time…?”</p><p>Mabel sighed angrily. “You can’t assume a person is a zombie because of a spooky journal you found in the woods.”</p><p>That got me agitated. “As far as I know, this book knows exactly what it’s talking about in this town. You have to at least acknowledge the uncanniness here! This is for your own sake, dammit!”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s good advice, except for one thing: that’s only true as far as you know! For all you and I know, the rest of the book is a hoax!”</p><p>“Stop being stubborn and be logical here!”</p><p>“Me being stubborn and illogical? No, YOU need to stop being stubborn and illogical here! Stop being paranoid and trust your damn sister for once! I know you’ve been spying on me all day! As far as I’m concerned, you’re the creep here, not Lance! Unless you got some miraculous proof that he is in fact a zombie, go away and leave me the hell alone!”</p><p>“He’s going to kill you, Mabel!” I put the charged camera in my pocket and I held onto her shoulders. </p><p>Mabel slapped my hands off her shoulders. “Dipper, in half an hour, I’m going on a date with Lance.” She took the journal out of my hands. “He is going to be dreamy, I’m going to be adorable, and you’re going to stay the hell away from us!” She backs me up into the doorway of our room.</p><p>“Your stupid conspiracies aren’t gonna ruin this date, not this time!” she said as she pushed the journal into my chest, knocking me over.</p><p>“Mabel, wait!” I said, before she slams and locks the door. “Mabel you idiot! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!”</p><p>“Go read a book, loser!” shouted Mabel from inside.</p><p>I give up. Guess she’s gonna die then.</p><p>I stomp down the stairs angrily. Why can’t she just acknowledge the similarities? I’m not trying to be a jerk here. I jump into the recliner in the family room, with my legs over one arm and my head resting on the other. Soos walked in while cleaning a bowl.</p><p>“I tried to warn you, dude.” he said, knowing that statement would agitate me further.</p><p>“I know I’m not wrong!” I snapped. “I’ve had a bad feeling about that guy since I first saw him.”</p><p>“To be fair, you’ve only seen him today.” said Soos.</p><p>“And Mabel’s only seen him for a maximum of three!” I snap again. I sighed. “Look, Soos, I’m not trying to be mean to you or anything, I’m just super frustrated at the fact that no one believes me!”</p><p>“I feel ya, dude.” said Soos.</p><p>“Girls!” I screamed again in frustration.</p><p>“Girls.” Soos agrees. There was a short moment of silence before Soos started again. “Do you know if you have any proof about your theory?”</p><p>“I know I don’t but I know it’s true, Soos.”</p><p>“Why don’t you just check the footage again? Just to double check?”</p><p>I shrug. “I guess it’s worth a shot.”</p><p>“Just call me when you’ve got something. Want a soda?”</p><p>“Sure.” I said as I opened up the video camera. If there’s any proof, I have to find it before Mabel leaves on her date in twenty-seven minutes. Over two hours of footage. I crack my knuckles. “Let’s do this.”</p><p>Soos handed me a Pitt soda, and I got to work.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>I’ve been through an hour and a half of footage. Luckily I was able to fast forward the footage and still see every frame. So far I can’t find anything that would totally convince Mabel about my theory about Lance. But I still have half an hour of footage left.</p><p>I hear footsteps coming down the stairs.</p><p>Oh no.</p><p>It’s Mabel.</p><p>She grabbed her favorite sweater and called out to the Shack.</p><p>“Bye Soos! I’m going to see Lance! Be back at ten!”</p><p>“Alright! Be safe!” called Soos from the kitchen.</p><p>“Bye, Dip.” Mabel said softly. Our fight still cycled through my head.</p><p>“Please don’t go.” I tried one last time, already knowing what’s going to happen.</p><p>“I’m going, and there’s nothing you’re gonna do about it.” replied Mabel. “I’m sorry, but not this time. Soos! Do you know where the golf cart keys are?”</p><p>“I have them.” I said and flung them towards her. “If what I said is true, don’t come crying to me.”</p><p>Mabel rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’ll catch you later.” she said, opening the door and heading towards the cart. I hear the start of the engine, and the sound of the cart fading away.</p><p>“Maybe she is right.” I said to myself, still checking the footage. “Maybe I am being to overprotective.”</p><p>“That’s what I tried to tell you.” said Soos, coming back in the living room.</p><p>“I guess I can be a little paranoid… wait… what was that?” I said, after seeing something on the camera catch my eye. I went back about ten seconds.</p><p>I couldn’t believe my eyes.</p><p>In those five seconds, without Mabel noticing, Lance’s arm falls off, and he quickly puts it on before anyone notices. Not even I caught that.</p><p> </p><p>When seeing that, I jumped in the chair so hard the recliner tipped over, taking me with it. I start screaming in horror.<br/>“Soos! Soos! Look!” I said, my heartbeat beating very fast. I rewinded the clip back to where it was.</p><p>“What’s the big deal? It’s just… HOLY CHICKEN WRAP!” Soos jumped, just like I did. “His arm just fell off… and he put it on like nothing happened!”</p><p>“And Mabel just went to go on a date with him.” I concluded. We both looked at each other. “Mabel!” we both said.</p><p>I immediately jumped and ran into the garage, with Soos following closely behind. Grunkle Stan keeps some bikes there.</p><p>I lifted one bike up.</p><p>“Crap!” I yelled. “The tires are slashed!” I threw the bike away.</p><p>“So is this one!” said Soos, holding the other destroyed bike.</p><p>There’s no more bikes left.</p><p>“What are we going to do now?” asked Soos, already drenched in stress sweat.</p><p>“Calm down.” I said. “I’ll go myself.”</p><p>“Are you kidding me? Stan told me to protect you with my life!”</p><p>“Yeah, well he told me to take care of you. If Stan returns, you have to be here, or else he’ll go bonkers. Do you understand me, Soos?”</p><p>“Yes, Dipper.” said Soos, almost as if I was the parent of him.</p><p>“Soos, go back to the Shack and pretend like nothing’s happened. I don’t need Wendy to freak out too.” I said, grabbing a shovel hanging on the garage wall. I had found a sword sheath back at the lab, and I took it out and placed it over my shoulder. I sheathed the shovel in the slot. “If Grunkle Stan comes back before I’m gone, just tell him I’ve got ‘business’ to attend to. Got it?”</p><p>“Yeah, but what happens if something goes wrong?” asked Soos.</p><p>“I have my cell phone.” I say as we both leave the garage.</p><p>“How are you going to get there in time?” says Soos. “I’d let you borrow my truck, but you’re underage and it’s basically busted.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Soos. I’ve got that figured out.” I said with a smirk. I started levitating in the air.</p><p>Soos could not believe his eyes. “Wha-? How? Dude! How are you doing that?”</p><p>“Just a happy little accident. I’ll explain later, but whatever you do, do NOT tell Stan” I said to the still dumbfounded Soos. “But for now, I’ve got a twin sister to save.”</p><p>“Good luck!” says Soos before I started flying at mach four into the forest.</p><p>“Holy s**t.” I heard Soos say as he went back into the Shack. He is probably both amazed and frightened of me.</p><p>I couldn’t help but smile.</p><p>But now I’ve got more serious matters to attend to. How the hell am I gonna find Mabel and “Lance” before it’s too late? Not even my hearing and eyesight are that acute yet.</p><p>But, I do have one last resort.</p><p>The journal. It will at least give me an idea of where they could be. </p><p>I gotta just hope I make it in time.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>NOW IN THIRD PERSON LIMITED</p><p>Mabel wondered why Lance was taking her deeper and deeper into the dense forest. Lance had said that he wanted to introduce her to his parents, and that he lived deep in the woods. Yet she couldn’t help but feel puzzled as to why she drove him from town to here and was having him drive the cart into the thick. </p><p>“We’re almost there,” said Lance in his hoarse, deep, and almost dead voice.</p><p>“Lance, can you just remind me why we’re traveling so deep into the woods? You had originally said that something special was happening tonight.” said Mabel.</p><p>“Oh, something very special will be happening tonight, my dear.” replied Lance. Mabel wasn’t one hundred percent sure how, but she was totally flattered by Lance’s unusual sense of charm.</p><p>Mabel sat in silence. A very miniscule part of her says that this might be trouble, but she shrugged it off. Everything’s going to be fine. Lance is here. He’ll protect her. But something was still nagging in her head.</p><p>Suddenly the cart stopped, almost launching her through the windshield before Lance’s muscular but cold arm stopped her.</p><p>“We are here.” he said cooly.</p><p>Mabel got out of the cart and was surprised. It looks like Lance lives in a tree. In an open patch stands a very large tree, that must have been there for centuries, with windows and a door, even with a Welcome Home mat in front of the door. To Mabel, this is an oddly comforting sight.</p><p>“Mabel,” started Lance, which got her attention. “Now that we’ve gotten to know each other, there’s… there’s something very important that I have to tell you.” A small breeze blows through, dramatically moving both Mabel’s and Lance’s hair.</p><p>“Oh, Lance, you can tell me anything!” said Mabel in a comforting and romantic voice. </p><p>Lance inhaled and exhaled. “Ok, but you have to promise and not tell anyone. You’ve gotta keep a cool mind, be open!”</p><p>Mabel nodded. Whatever’s happening right now will be very important.</p><p>“Do you have any parents, Lance?” asked Mabel softly.</p><p>Lance shook his head. “No, both of them died centuries ago.”</p><p>“Centuries ago? Don’t you think that’s an exaggeration?” said Mabel.</p><p>“That’s the thing, Mabel.” Lance said. “You love me for who I am now, but I’m not who I am now.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I’m…” Lance started before bowing his head in shame. “I’m… not who you think I am.”</p><p>“What does that mean? Do you have like an identity crisis or something?”</p><p>“I’m not human. Not anymore.” said Lance.</p><p>“Are you… a vampire?” said Mabel, her face lighting up. “That would be so cool! Not to mention more romantic than those other vampire love stories!”</p><p>That’s right Twilight series… I’m talking about you. </p><p>“I’m not a vampire, Mabel.” said Lance. “There’s a reason I wear this hoodie all the time. To hide my secret from the public.”</p><p>“But what secret would that be?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“What I’m about to show you… is who I really am.” said Lance, reaching for his hoodie, about to open it up.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter. I still love you and I accept you for who you are.” said Mabel strongly.</p><p>“Just don’t freak out. Keep it cool.” said Lance again.</p><p>“Got it.”</p><p>“Here goes…” said Lance with regret in his voice as he opened up his hoodie to show Mabel.</p><p>Mabel gasped in surprise. She had not seen this coming.</p><p>She wished she had listened to Dipper.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>BACK TO DIPPER</p><p>I’m starting to get worried. The more time I waste trying to find her, the more the situation becomes dangerous for her. I can’t allow that. Not on my watch.</p><p>I’ve been given these powers for a reason. I’ve got to save her.</p><p>But I’ve been searching for a while now, and I still have no trace of her.</p><p>I’ve got to keep going. Mabel’s life depends on it.</p><p>What’s this? Something on the ground? I’ve got to check this. I fly down for a closer look.</p><p>Just as I suspected.</p><p>Tire tracks. Still fresh. I recognize that it’s the golf cart’s tread. I exhaled in relief. At least I’m on the right track.</p><p>But one big question still remains.</p><p>What way are the tracks going?</p><p>The tread doesn’t help here. It looks too similar going both ways.</p><p>Maybe if I use my hearing, I could get a clue where they are. Good idea.</p><p>I shut my eyes and try to clear my head. I only imagine hearing Mabel’s voice. I now focus intently on hearing her voice. I feel beads of sweat drip off my face and onto my t-shirt.</p><p>Dammit! No sign of her at all.</p><p>I do the same thing with Lance’s voice.</p><p>Same result.</p><p>I’ve got only one last idea, and it isn’t very reliable.</p><p>I fly up past the trees, and try to text Mabel.</p><p>Where are you? I sent, waiting for the result.</p><p>After a little while, I saw the message I sent turn green instead of the usual blue. That only means two things: she’s turned her phone off, or she’s got bad reception (likely deep in the woods). I know that Mabel would never turn her phone off in any circumstances.</p><p>I see the tire trail of the golf cart. One way leads towards town, the other deeper into the woods. My gut tells me the woods. </p><p>I land back down on the ground and start running, following the trail left by the golf cart. “I’m coming, Mabel!” I say.</p><p>I’m consistently running at about thirty-five miles per hour. Pretty fast and cool, but that doesn’t matter now. What matters is saving Mabel.</p><p>Agh! A tree branch caught my arm! Some of my t-shirt ripped off, and left a fresh cut.</p><p>That’s odd. I thought I would also have invulnerability. How else would I have survived that fall a day ago?</p><p>Yet another mystery in this strange town.</p><p>Why would Lance lead Mabel into the middle of the woods? Why go through all that trouble, going all this way, just to eat her? For privacy? Tradition? This still doesn’t make sense. With all my knowledge on zombies, and where places are, why would he deter almost three miles away from the nearest graveyard?</p><p>I redoubled my efforts. Sweat flew off my face. Whatever reason he has her all the way out here, I’m determined to foil his plans.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. The First Adventure: Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Upon the horrific discovery, Dipper must save Mabel from her now ex-boyfriend before they both die horribly.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Have fun reading over 9,000 words. Aren't you glad I broke up the stories?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“What the hell?” asked Mabel, both in shock and confusion, still trying to process what stood in front of her.</p><p>The thing that stood in front of her was no longer Lance.</p><p>The correct term would be things.</p><p>Out of Lance’s clothing came out four small, green, gremlin-like midget creatures, with an unusual red feature, looking almost identical to lobster claws.</p><p>“Who are you people?” said Mabel. “And why the hell do you have lobster claws?”</p><p>The first creature, naturally looking like the most superior, cleared his throat. “So, uh, we’re not humans.”</p><p>“Well obviously.” said Mabel.</p><p>“We’re loblins. Let’s get that out of the way.” said the loblin.</p><p>The entire situation got awkward quick.</p><p>Mabel sat down and facepalmed. At least it’s not a brain-eating dangerous zombie sought out to devour humanity.</p><p>“I know it’s a lot to process, but we loblins are in dire need for a queen. The poor lady died yesterday.” said the loblin.</p><p>“Who even are you?” said Mabel.</p><p>“Oh! Sorry for my rudeness, miss.” he bowed in respect. “I’m Lance, over there is Johnny, there’s Wyatt, that’s Quint, and the really big and quiet one is Brick. You don't want to mess with Brick.”</p><p>“And why are you trying to hook up a fifteen year old?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“Like I said,” said Lance. “Our queen had just died yesterday on a really abnormal circumstance.”</p><p>“What happened to her?” questioned Mabel, curious about what happened to her.</p><p>“Yeah, well yesterday she went on her usual walk through the forest, and Brick here says that some bloke fell thousands of feet from the sky right on top of her, squashed her like a watermelon.” said Lance. Brick nodded his head slowly in agreement. “The poor queen didn't deserve that. When our expert doctors showed up, it was already too late. And even worse, the bloke who fell on her destroyed a tree and walked away!”</p><p>“Dipper.” said Mabel angrily. He killed the queen.</p><p>“So you know of the man who killed our queen?” asked Lance.</p><p>“Do I know him? He's my brother!” said Mabel. As soon as she said that she regretted it.</p><p>“Your brother?” said Lance. “Do you hear that, boys? We've got the perfect chance of avenging our queen, and I know just how to do it.”</p><p>“How are you going to do that?”</p><p>“Well, after you take our hands in marriage, we’ll kill your brother and offer him as a sacrifice to our beloved queen in the sky.” said Lance, checking a pocket watch. “Ooh, and if we’re lucky, we’ll be able to finish it all before the ball game at seven.”</p><p>“Are you kidding me? I’ll never marry you little freaks!” said Mabel in fury.</p><p>“Hey, sometimes you have to make the adult decision here and choose the logical choice here,” said Lance. “And join us in holy matrimony.”</p><p>“I am not, and if there’s any adult, mature choices made here, it’s definitely not trying to hook up a teenager to replace the queen of the… what are you guys again?”</p><p>“Loblins!” shouted Wyatt from the back.</p><p>Mabel snapped her fingers. “Loblins! Thank you, Wyatt!”</p><p>“No problem, Mabel!” said Wyatt back, pointing his fingers at her like a cool guy.</p><p>“Mabel, Mabel, Mabel,” said Lance. “You have to accept our offer. We’re talking about immortality here.”</p><p>“To be fair, that immortality didn’t work when she got killed.”</p><p>The other loblins, along with Lance, nodded in agreement. “She does have a point.” says Johnny.</p><p>“Mabel, we’re giving you one last offer.” said Lance. “Please, for the sake of the loblin community, become our queen.”</p><p>Mabel sighed. “Look, most of you guys are really sweet, funny and all,” The loblins’ faces brightened up in smiles. “But I’m still only fifteen years old. I’m a girl, and you’re lobster goblins, and it’s like I’m just not ready for this, you know?”</p><p>Lance bowed his head in defeat. “We understand, Mabel.”</p><p>Mabel piped up. “So you’re not mad at me?”</p><p>Lance scoffed. “What? Of course not!”</p><p>“Then why are your friends holding that rope?”</p><p>“Oh, that.” said Lance in a bubbly voice. “Yeah, we’re going to kidnap you and force you to marry us.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Now boys!” said Lance as the rope is tossed around Mabel, the loblins working faster than she can process what’s happening.</p><p>Before she knew it, she was tied up and being moved away deeper into the forest by the green and red monsters.</p><p>“Dipper! Help me!” screamed Mabel, praying that he can hear her pleas.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>Dipper</p><p>“Dipper! Help me!” I hear from a voice coming dead ahead. </p><p>Mabel’s voice. </p><p>“Hold on, I’m coming!” I said, traversing through the obstacle course of assorted trees and shrubbery. Another few branches caught me at different locations, like my other arm and on my side. I feel the sweat falling into the cuts, providing a small, but annoying burning sensation.</p><p>According to my calculations, she should be a little over half a mile away.</p><p>I pray that I can get to her in time, but I have to prepare for the worst.</p><p>He could be eating her alive. She could already be a zombie. Or even worse. She was right all along.</p><p>I stop running as I skid to a halt in the middle of a relatively small clearing in the woods. Over to the left I still see the golf cart, still intact, thankfully. Grunkle Stan would kill me if that even gets the slightest dent.</p><p>What puzzles me is that Mabel and Lance are nowhere to be found. All I see are random indentations in the ground.</p><p>Wait a second…</p><p>In those indentations I see a trace of glitter. The same kind of glitter that was on Mabel’s sweater. </p><p>She was here.</p><p>I pause for a moment, concentrating to hear her voice.</p><p>“Help me, Dip!” Faint, but easily recognizable as Mabel’s. Sounds like she’s going north. “Help m-”</p><p>I gasp. That undead jerk muted her. I know it’s only a matter of time. I grab the shovel out of the sheath and get ready for battle. I lift myself up three feet in the air, flying towards the direction of her voice.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>Third Person</p><p>“Nng.” grunted Mabel, struggling to get loose from the rope entrapping her.</p><p>“ You’re just making this more awkward for all of us, so you should really stop struggling over there!” called Lance. “Because A) We’re trying to plan a wedding here and B) That’s a magical rope that gets tighter the more you squirm.”</p><p>“I don’t believe a single word you- nng!” snapped Mabel. The rope was indeed getting tighter.</p><p>Lance came over and placed his hand on her chin, pointing it to him. “Since I like you so much, I’ll give you another chance. Do you want to do this willingly or will you be forced?”</p><p>“You guys are crap heads!” screamed Mabel, startling Lance.</p><p>“That’s enough of you. Boys!” he called, and two loblins came and duct-taped her mouth shut.</p><p>Yes. Even loblins need duct tape.</p><p>“I gave you a chance!” said Lance. “You left me no choice. Now let’s see how Rico’s doing over there with the wedding cake and leave the queen all by herself so that in case someone drops by, he has the element of surprise.”</p><p>. . . .</p><p>Dipper</p><p>There. I see her. Tied down by rope and gagged with duct tape. She looked both very relieved to see me and frightened of the situation at hand. I pick up many voices, within a small area, very close by. Those must be Lance’s zombie friends.</p><p>I start off by ripping the tape off Mabel’s face.</p><p>“Thank you!” she whispered, leaning in for a hug, which I returned. </p><p>“For now let’s just worry about getting the hell out of here.” I replied.</p><p>“Who are you?” says a deep, masculine voice behind me. He took the shovel out of my hands. I feel something sharp poking my back.</p><p>“Hey, get off me!” I said, elbowing the figure behind me, sending him back a couple of feet. I used my heat vision and cut the ropes bounding Mabel. “Hurry, let’s get out of here before anyone else notices.”</p><p>“Before who else notices?” calls a similar voice behind my back. That ridiculous British accent. I whip myself around and put my arm in front of Mabel in a protective way.</p><p>“Lance! I oughta… what? What the hell’s going on?” I asked in confusion. I was expecting the undead, and instead I see twenty creatures that look like boogers. I turned to Mabel for an explanation.</p><p>“Yeah, so it turns out Lance was actually a bunch of these things called ‘loblins.’ They’re also saying that I need to be their new queen.” she said. Suddenly she becomes angry and points a finger at me. “Because you killed their queen!”</p><p>“What? I did no such thing!” I protest.</p><p>“Brick over there says you landed on her after your little mishap at the lab!”</p><p>I replayed that scene from yesterday in my head. “That might have been a possibility, but I don’t recall-”</p><p>“Wait.” says the loblin I presume to be Lance, due to the accent. “You’re telling me that you’re the one who killed our queen?! Our queen who’s been ruling for centuries?!”</p><p>I shrug. “I guess.”</p><p>Lance looked over at Mabel. “Thank you for summoning this murderer here, my queen. We deeply appreciate it. We’ll take it from here.”</p><p>“You’ll take what from here?” I asked, patting myself. Crap. They took my shovel.</p><p>“Well, as part of our customs, we kill those who murder our queens to avenge them!” said Lance rather simply.</p><p>I stood up straight. “Really? Isn’t that like really barbaric and unnecessary?”</p><p>“Barbaric? Yes. But it’s totally necessary.” said Lance, flashing his teeth. Very sharp. I can almost feel them cutting me just by looking at them.</p><p>“I have a better idea.” I said. “You leave us two alone, and you look for another new queen.”</p><p>A couple of loblins booed from the back of the pack. “That’s a terrible idea!” snaps a nearby loblin.</p><p>“Mabel.” I whispered to her, capturing her attention. “Do you remember where you kept the keys for the cart?” </p><p>Mabel tapped her pocket, with a small object located in it. “Got it. Why?”</p><p>“Cuz we’re about to get the hell out of here.” I whisper again. “Now hold on.”</p><p>“Hold on? Why?” she started, but her question was immediately answered. </p><p>Before she and the loblins knew it, we were already thirty feet in the air, dodging the spears thrown by the warriors and heading toward the golf cart.</p><p>I hear Lance scream “The boy’s a demigod! We have to kill him!”</p><p>After a little more spear dodging and flying, we landed by the golf cart.</p><p>“No time to waste. Hand me the keys!”</p><p>“Why do you get to drive?” complained Mabel.</p><p>“Just shut up and do what you’re told!” I fussed.</p><p>She tossed me the keys and I quickly tried to turn the engine on.</p><p>“Bloody hell.” I muttered.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“The damn thing’s stalling.” I said, repeating the key turning process, hoping that each time it would have a different result. A spark from the keyhole shocked my hand.</p><p>“Dammit!” I said, getting out of the cart and moving toward the trunk. I opened it up, revealing a box. It says Use only for pinatas. -Soos</p><p>I opened up a box, and lo and behold, a baseball bat was in there. I grabbed the bat and ran back to the front. </p><p>“Here, take this!” I said, throwing the bat at her.</p><p>“What’s this for?”</p><p>“Self defense.” I said grimly.</p><p>“What about you?” she asked. </p><p>“You’re not the one with super powers, so I’m most worried about you.” I said. She was clearly in disagreement with me. </p><p>“This isn’t right. You should-”</p><p>“Just shut up and keep the bat.” I said. My hearing’s picking up the rustling of bushes… “They’re all around us!” I said, terrified of my discovery.</p><p>Sure enough, dozens of loblins came out of hiding, all equipped with spears and other weapons. Lance stood on an elevated rock, wearing some weird skull mask on his face.</p><p>“Give it up! You’re grossly outnumbered.” called Lance.</p><p>Mabel and I backed up into each other’s backs. “What do you suggest we do, genius?” she asked.</p><p>“I think I’ve got an idea.” I said. “But you have to get in the cart.” </p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Just do it!” I snapped. “Here they come.” Hope this works.</p><p>I take a deep breath, and feel the storm raging inside of me. Some of the loblins stared in confusion. Exactly the hesitation that I needed.</p><p>I let go of the storm inside, and literally blow every single loblin almost five hundred feet away. I drop down in exhaustion. That really took my breath away. No pun intended there.</p><p>“Dipper! Behind you!” shouted Mabel.</p><p>“Huh?” I said before seeing my own shovel being smacked across my face. An explosion of pain cried out in my skull. I fell to the ground, paralyzed for a couple of seconds. As my vision came back, I see the blood from the fresh wound trickling into my eye, and a very large loblin (Brick), holding my shovel up, going in for the kill.</p><p>I barely had time to react as I moved my head just in time before the shovel’s sharp edge hit the ground. I kicked Brick and grabbed the shovel out of his clutches and stand back up.</p><p>“Thanks! I’ve been looking for this!” I said before clubbing him in the head, leaving him unconscious. I rushed back to the front of the cart and opened up the hood.</p><p>“Dammit. Just as bad as I had feared.” I said.</p><p>“What’s wrong with the engine?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“The spark plug’s not working. A piece of it broke off.” I said. “Guess I’ll have to do it manually. Also, could you watch my back and fend those guys off if you can? I’d rather not get hit in the head with a shovel again.”</p><p>“Gotcha.”</p><p>“This will take some time.”</p><p>“How much?”</p><p>“I don’t know, but it shouldn’t take longer than five minutes.” I said, then paused. Their war cries are closing in again. “They’re coming, and they’re probably angrier this time, so get ready for hell.”</p><p>“I’ve been ready for hell since you’ve hit puberty.” said Mabel, getting in a defensive stance behind me.</p><p>“Here they come.” I said. Right on cue comes the rustling of the bushes and the hollering of the green warriors.</p><p>A thought just surfaced my head. How can they hold those spears with those lobster claws as hands?</p><p> I take a quick turn around to see how they do it. Surprising enough, the red claws are gone when holding the spear, but they morph back once it’s thrown.</p><p>That’s right! I remember looking around in the journal and seeing that loblins can shapeshift, but with only minor alterations. That explains why the “human” Lance was pale skinned instead of green.</p><p>Mabel grunted after hitting another wave of loblins. I can hear her heartbeat going up. “You done yet? This bat’s heavy, and they’re coming in endless waves!”</p><p>“Almost...got...it…” I said, fiddling with my hands, trying to make a spark. I sneeze, and another chunk falls off of the spark plug. “Dammit!”</p><p>“What do you mean dammit?” asked Mabel. Almost a dozen loblins surrounded her. </p><p>“Ah, the hell with it.” I said to the cart. I used my heat vision in one last effort to replace the spark plug. I was instantly relieved when the engine puttered to life. “Bingo!” I turn around and became part of the action.</p><p>A loblin leaped for Mabel as she was occupied with others, going right for her blind spot. I grab him in the nick of time. “Going somewhere?” I said before throwing him at the horde of loblins, sending them in disarray.</p><p>“It’s fixed?” said Mabel. I nodded. “Let’s take care of these boogers and get the hell out of here!” I smiled and continued fighting.</p><p>“I’m getting tired of this! Send in the fire units!” bellowed Lance, drawing his very sharp looking sword. It looks like he’s ready for battle, but will not go in just yet.</p><p>“Over there!” says Mabel, pointing behind me. I crane my head and see an ominous glow of red and orange eminating from three loblins, almost as big as Brick. Two of them glare at me, and one at Mabel.</p><p>Oh no.</p><p>The fire loblins charged, the two right at me and the last one at Mabel.</p><p>“Mabel, look out!” I managed to scream before one fire loblin grabs me and holds me in the air. “Nnng.” His white hot hands are burning my skin, leaving a black vapor trail. The second one starts charging up, aiming right at my face. He’s going to roast me alive. I start panicking. Anger swells inside me. If I fail today, Mabel will be condemned for the rest of her life. And I’ll die.</p><p>In a fit of rage, I break myself free from the fire loblin’s grip, and sock him right in the face, with no restraint. He falls on the ground, completely limp, while I stay hovering above the ground. I glance at the second fire loblin just in time, as he shoots his concentrated beam of fire.</p><p>Just in the nick of time I fly out of the way, but a small stroke of the blast grazes my torso, leaving a festering, searing wound, along with a nice hole in my shirt. I let out a small scream in pain and I fell on the ground.</p><p>“Dipper!” screamed Mabel in worry. I know she wants to help, but she’s still occupied with the fire loblin.</p><p>I struggle to get myself up. My head is pounding. Can’t think… can’t concentrate…</p><p>I feel myself being kicked, and I’m flying in the air before I hit Mabel, knocking her down.</p><p>“Hi.” I said weakly.</p><p>She got up and bent over me. “You’ve taken some pretty bad blows. We need to get out of here.”</p><p>I sit myself up. “I would love to, but we’ve got company.”I said, looking at the incoming green army, led by Lance and the two fire loblins. “Mabel, help me up.”</p><p>She helped me up, and I tried to stand tall, but the burn on my chest hurt too much. I fell back down on my knees.</p><p>Lance chuckled. “I told you not to mess with the loblins. Now you die an honorable death. Boys!” He snapped his fingers, and the two fire loblins stepped forward, their fists glowing fiercely.</p><p>“What do we do?” asks Mabel.</p><p>“I have an idea.” I said. “If we are to come out of this alive, we have to get rid of the fiery dudes.”</p><p>“That is pretty obvious, but how do we do that?”</p><p>“I’ll try something new.” I said. I turned to the army. “Lance, this is your last chance. Let us go, or face the consequences.”</p><p>Lance and his cronies laughed. “And what consequences would that be?”</p><p>“This.” I said before holding my breath in. I start thinking about the coldest places on Earth, like Antarctica and Siberia. I let go of my breath, and see the swirling of blue coming out of my mouth to form frozen bonds onto the fire loblins. When I ran out of breath, it was clear that both of them were frozen solid. Lance and the other loblins immediately stopped laughing.</p><p>“Oh man, he’s for real!” shouts a loblin from the back.</p><p>I stand tall. “Last chance, Lance. Let us go, or face the same fate as them.”</p><p>Lance squinted his eyes. “You’ve already taken one queen from us. You won’t take another! Charge!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. A tsunami of agitated loblins swarm in from every angle.</p><p>“Huh.” I said to Mabel. “I thought that would totally intimidate them.”</p><p>“They’re warriors, Dipper. What do you expect?”</p><p>Well. Plan B has failed. </p><p>I’d think of a plan C right off the bat, but I’m currently occupied with protecting Mabel against the forces of hundreds of loblins.</p><p>I had a difficult time fending them all off, and after a couple of seconds I’m buried by them. I can hear Mabel’s struggle with them as well. </p><p>“Let go of her!” I screamed over the gremlins’ war cries. In another fit of rage, I flung every single loblin off me, sending them flying. I look over to Mabel, still buried by another horde. “I said, LET. HER. GO!” I screamed again, bashing them out of the way to clear a path to Mabel. I feel my eyes start burning up and glowing red. Eventually I made my way to Mabel, who at the time was taking care of one last loblin.</p><p>I reach my hand out to her. “I don’t know about you, but I think playtime’s over, don’t you think?”</p><p>She smiled and took my hand. “For once, I agree with you.” I helped her up. “We have to go now.”</p><p>“You took the words right out of my mouth.” I said. Something caught my eye as a loblin from afar threw a spear, going straight for the back of Mabel’s head. Acting purely with instinct, I reach over and grab the spear, the sharp tip just inches from the back of her skull. “After you.” I said, and she bolted for the cart, and I followed, but not until after throwing the butt of the spear at the loblin’s head, knocking him over.</p><p>We both jump in the cart, which was already started. I shifted the cart into reverse as fast as I could. “We have to get back to the Shack before they follow us.” I said. “You have any idea what’s the quickest way there? I take the ledge going up on the mountain, right?” I start steering the cart towards the ledge. </p><p>“Don’t take the ledge!” shouted Mabel. I was startled and veered, staying on the path and not the ledge.</p><p>“Dammit. We missed it!” I said, infuriated.</p><p>“You asked for the quickest way there, and I told you the quickest way there! Stay on the path!” retorted Mabel.</p><p>“Great. We’ll never get there in time.” I muttered to myself.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>Third Person</p><p>“They’re getting away! They’re getting away!” shouted Lance at the warrior loblins, all of whom were still recovering from Dipper’s most recent fit of rage.</p><p>“What are we going to do about it? We can’t catch up to them now!” cried Wyatt.</p><p>“There is one option.” bellowed Brick, rubbing his head. “A method that has been untouched for centuries. A method only our queen has seen firsthand.”</p><p>“But what method would that be?” asked Johnny.</p><p>Lance smiled. “Oh, I know exactly what Brick’s talking about. Round up all the men we’ve got! Mabel will be our queen, whether she likes it or not!”</p><p>A few moments later, a large behemoth rose over the trees. </p><p>“Onwards, blokes! Just like we practiced!” shouted Lance. The behemoth started moving towards where the twins had left.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>Dipper</p><p>“Dipper! Hurry up or they’ll catch us!” said Mabel, looking behind herself very anxiously.</p><p>I chuckled. “Mabel, have you seen their little legs? They can’t cover that much ground, so don’t sweat it!” I patted her on the back. The instant I patted her back, a giant rumble from the ground, and the cart skidded out of control for a second. “What the hell was that?”</p><p>“What was what? Hey, next time you pat my back while driving, try not to kill us, alright?” said Mabel.</p><p>“No, did you feel that?” I asked her again. “It was like some shockwave or something.”</p><p>“What are you talking about now?”</p><p>“I felt a big boom. I even heard a big boom.”</p><p>Mabel scoffed. “Just you and your imagination again.” After she said that, another boom happened, twice the magnitude. She almost fell out of the cart. Luckily I grabbed her and put her back in her seat.</p><p>“Believe me now, don’t you?” I said.</p><p>“Shut up.” she said. Another shockwave happened, again rising in magnitude, and much louder.</p><p>“Whatever the shockwave is, it’s coming closer. Do me a favor and check behind me, won’t you? I can hear it coming from back there.”</p><p>“Sure thing.” said Mabel, then she turned her back. She gasped and locked back in front, pale as a ghost.</p><p>“Let me guess.” I said. “A large creature easily the size of the Shack.”</p><p>“Yep.” she squeaked.</p><p>“Heading right for us?”</p><p>“Most definitely.”</p><p>“Well, what’s a good adventure without a good car chase scene?” I joked. Mabel looked dead serious.</p><p>“Stop right there!” shouted the creature. Damn. British accent. Lance.</p><p>Mabel looked right at me, clearly ticked. “Oh, they’ll never catch up!” she said, mocking my voice. “Have you seen their tiny little legs?”</p><p>“Shut up.” I retorted. Having Mabel nag me is totally not what I need right now.</p><p>“It’s gaining on us! Go faster!” cried Mabel.</p><p>“The engine’s already been through alot, Mabel. The last thing we need is to overheat it.” I replied.</p><p>“So what?”</p><p>“If the engine overheats, the cart will stop, condemning us to imminent doom. Now please go check on it.”</p><p>Mabel turned around. In a very calm way, she turned around and stared at me. “Yeah, that thing is hundreds of loblins jumbled into one giant one.”</p><p>“Oh, is that all?” I said.</p><p>“That and the fact that I think it’s about to deploy some attack loblins on the cart.”</p><p>“Really? Now?”</p><p>“Yep. Incoming!” she said, and right on cue, it started raining loblins. All but five miss the cart, but those on the cart are creating a mess. </p><p>One landed on the roof and already tore through the roof with his lobster claws.</p><p>“Mabel?”</p><p>“I’m kind of busy here.” said Mabel while elbowing a poor loblin off of the cart.</p><p> I grit my teeth. This is exactly the kind of destruction to the cart that would make Grunkle Stan go nuts. I hear a loblin sneaking up on me from behind. Before he grabs me, I snatch him from behind, bash his face on the steering wheel (while making dinky car beeps) a couple of times, and on the last bash, I let him fly back onto the forest road. By that time, Mabel finished up with her last loblin. After a few peaceful seconds, Mabel and I exchanged glances, and we both sighed in relief.</p><p>That is, until a loblin landed on the hood of the car. It shrieks an inhuman scream, that I’m pretty sure only dogs and I could hear. It leaps for my face, its lobster claws turning into talons.</p><p>“Uh oh.” I mutter before it attaches to my face and shreds away. “Aagh!”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Dipper!” said Mabel. She started punching the loblin on the side as it kept shredding away at my face. After one last punch that hit the creature and my face, the loblin flew off and landed in the dirt road. I rubbed my jaw.</p><p>“Thanks, Mabel.” I said, that phrase full of voice cracks. I rubbed my jaw, still a little sore from her punch. “Not bad.”</p><p>Mabel giggled and held up her fists. “Next Ronda Rousey, this girl.”</p><p>I rolled my eyes. “In your dreams.”</p><p>It took us a little while to figure out again that the giant loblin was still hot on our trail</p><p>“It’s getting closer!” said Mabel.</p><p>I try swerving the cart to shake it off. “Did it work?”</p><p>Mabel only shook her head. </p><p>“Dammit!” I said. Horror set in. I can see the Mystery Shack. I’m leading the monster right to our home. I start swerving to lead it elsewhere, when Mabel pointed something out.</p><p>“Dipper! The fuel needle’s past the E!” she warned.</p><p>“Dammit. I’ll have to lead it to the house.” I said. The Shack’s only a couple hundred feet away. I look back to see how far the monster’s behind.</p><p>“Dipper! Rock!” screamed Mabel.</p><p>“Huh?” my head snapped back forward and a rather large boulder, half embedded into the ground, was dead in our path. It’s too late to veer out of the way.</p><p>The cart used the rock as a ledge and crash landed right at the base of the Shack.</p><p>“Nng. You ok?” I asked Mabel.</p><p>“I feel super.” says Mabel sarcastically.</p><p>“Save the sarcasm for later. We’ve got company.” I said, pointing at the goliath loblin. </p><p>“Mabel!” boomed Lance from the top of it. “This is your last and final chance. Marry us, or die.”</p><p>“Last chance?” I said to Lance. “You’ve said that at least like five times before.” Mabel nodded in agreement.</p><p>“That’s because I’ve tried being nice with you two. My patience is worn through.” said Lance, clearly irritated. ONly from his tone alone I could tell that he meant serious business.</p><p>Mabel look at me. “Dipper. I got this.” she said confidently. It was clear that she was annoyed when I flashed my skeptical  look and sighed. “I’ll be fine. Just don’t… don’t do anything that you would do.”</p><p>“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked, but she ignored me.</p><p>“Okay Lance. I accept your marriage proposal.” said Mabel softly.</p><p>Lance snapped his claw. I don’t know how he did that, but he did it nonetheless. “Hot dog!” he cried as he started climbing out of the giant group of loblins. “Excuse me, sorry Roger! Ooh, watch those hands Anderson, that’s scandalous!” He finally came down and opened up a small box, revealing a very large wedding ring. Wow. That’s gotta be at least fifty karats and at least a couple thousand dollars.</p><p>Mabel blushed as Lance put the ring on her finger. She twiddled with her fingers with the new piece of jewelry accessorized.</p><p>“Alright. Now let’s get you back to our domain, so you can start一” spoke Lance before Mabel interrupted him.</p><p>“You may now kiss the bride.”</p><p>Lance stopped dead in his tracks. “Oh. Yeah. That’s right.” he said. “Don’t mind if I do!” He started leaning forward with his eyes closed and lips puckered. To my horror, Mabel started leaning in too.</p><p>Wait a second. I study Mabel’s hand, most importantly her ring. It’s wiggling in an abnormal way. Unless she’s trying to point at something. The reflection of the light off the huge diamond is moving around near the trash cans by the end of the Shack. The light zig-zags onto the leaf blower conveniently located there.</p><p>That’s it! I get what she means! Good thinking, Mabel! I look to her hands again. She counted down with her fingers.</p><p>3...2...1…</p><p>Her hand cocked back and I dashed over to the leaf blower and tossed it in Mabel’s direction. She turns just in the nick of time, catches it, and turns it on. The hum of the leaf blower took Lance out of his trance. He flashed his eyes wide open.</p><p>“Wha-! What’s going on here?” he asked.</p><p>“This is for lying to me.” said Mabel. She turned on the suck mode and Lance started to be sucked in towards the leaf blower now..</p><p>“Whoa! Hold on, now!” he stammered again.</p><p>“This is for kidnapping me and almost killing me and my brother!” she said. She turned the leaf blower into turbo-suck mode. (Insert inappropriate joke here regarding turbo-suck) Lance, with the exception of his head, flew into the tube of the leaf blower.</p><p>“Ow!” the rest of the loblins stood still, as if they greatly fear the leaf blower.</p><p>“And this! This is for having me pay for lunch at the diner!” cried Mabel. She turns towards me and points at the switch to blow mode. (insert another inappropriate joke) “Would you like to?” (insert yet another inappropriate joke here)</p><p>I shook my head. “If he had you pay for lunch, I think you deserve this one.”</p><p>She smiled. “I was hoping you would say that.” She flicked the switch. Lance flew out of the leaf blower like a cannon, piercing through the loblin-structured giant loblin. The little green gremlins started flying everywhere.</p><p>Almost all of them landed roughly, but none of them were harmed. They got up, flustered and embarrassed, until one loblin cried out.</p><p>“Look! It’s little Clyde!” he screamed. He pointed up to the roof of the Shack. There, holding onto the edge of the roof for his life was a dangling, tiny, and probably the weakest loblin I’ve seen yet.</p><p>“Somebody get him!” screams Johnny. “He’s only 35 years old!”</p><p>I’ve read in the journal that loblins age very very slowly, and live up to 800 years. He may be older than my parents, but Clyde doesn’t look a day over six years old.</p><p>I fished out my journal and flipped to the loblin page.</p><p>     Interesting fact: loblins are nefarious for their durability, but like everything else in life, it devleops into the body. Until the age of forty years old, the young loblins are as fragile as an egg.</p><p>Interesting.</p><p>“Oh no! He’s slipping! Won’t anybody save him!” cries another loblin.</p><p>Poor old Clyde’s grip is slipping. I can hear his accelerated heartbeat. Every single loblin is either too beat up and sore to do anything, or they’re frozen in fear. And from personal experience, I know that the siding of the Shack is way to slippery to climb upon.</p><p>Clyde lost his grip and fell down to the hard, merciless ground.</p><p>Reacting purely on instinct, I flew at a supersonic speed, while pushing some loblins in my path out of the way. Right when the almost adorably small infant loblin would have splattered all over the ground, I caught him.</p><p>After slowing down my flight speed, I gently put the young loblin down on his feet.</p><p>“You okay?” I asked him.</p><p>“I一I think so.” replied Clyde. Poor guy. He’s probably in shock.</p><p>I smiled, nodded to the boy, and turned around, only to find a dozen sharp spears aiming right at my heart. I stopped dead in my tracks. Over all that had happened in the last half hour, I totally forgot about the “kill me to avenge the queen” deal.</p><p>“Wait!” boomed a distinguishably British voice. Lance? Why is he telling them to wait? He paced up right in front of me, his arms out facing the spears, trying to get them to lower them. “We must not kill this boy!”</p><p>“Teenager.” I ad-lib. “I’m a teenager.”</p><p>The crowd murmured and chattered, and then eventually died down. Quentin spoke.</p><p>“But Lord Lance! He killed our queen!” The loblins growled hungrily and in agreement.</p><p>“Silence!” shouted Lance. They died down. “He may have killed our queen, and he may have destroyed one of our ten oldest trees in the forest, but I came to realize that these incidents must have been accidents!”</p><p>About time one of these little green guys get me.</p><p>“Even after being denied, he still went out for his sister. He stalked both of us just for her safety!” Lance said dramatically, pointing to Mabel. “He traveled through some of the most dangerous parts of the forest and fought our toughest men for her well-being! Even after all the pain we put him through, he still went out of his way to save one of our future heirs to the throne! I’m not saying that this is a perfect man, but he must not be killed!”</p><p>The crowd explodes in whispering and murmuring, and I didn’t need super hearing to know that mixed feelings are present.</p><p>They piped down. </p><p>“Let’s hear it from the boy himself!” called Brick, pointing at me. I feel all the eyes, loblins and Mabel, dart to me.</p><p>“Look.” I sighed. “My memory’s still a little shaky from yesterday, but I will say this. I’ve never had any intentions of killing or destroying anybody or anything. What happened yesterday was something that was not in my control. It was simply a very unfortunate coincidence. If I knew I had killed the queen, I would have apologized immediately. I meant no disrespect when I had taken Mabel back, I was only doing that for her well-being. What I really mean is that I’m sorry for killing your queen, and I promise to help you find a new one, just not Mabel.”</p><p>The crowd, even Mabel, were dead silent. A hand popped up from the mess of loblins.</p><p>“Does that mean we get to kill you?”</p><p>“No. You will not get to kill me.” I reply.</p><p>“But what about another queen?” asks another loblin.</p><p>I scratched the small scruff on my chin. “This may be a dumb question, but are there any female loblins in your population?”</p><p>“Of course!” said Lance. “How else would we reproduce?”</p><p>“Why don’t you have one of them as queen?”</p><p>A lot of the loblins looked dumbfounded.</p><p>“Now that’s a novel idea!”</p><p>“Why didn’t I think of it before?”</p><p>“This would've saved hundreds on health insurance!”</p><p>I stared blankly at Mabel as they kept babbling. My eyebrow raised high on my head. She shrugged her shoulders.</p><p>I've also read in the journal that loblins are not very intelligent creatures. Good thing they're excellent hunters and alchemists.</p><p>“I've never heard of such genius!” said Lance, shaking my hand. “You have no idea how much easier you made it to find our queen! Thank you, friend.”</p><p>“Dipper.” I said.</p><p>Lance paused. “Dipper, you say? That sounds familiar…” </p><p>“The prophecy.” says Johnny, eavesdropping the entire conversation.</p><p>Lance’s eyes flashed. “The prophecy? Now? No way!”</p><p>“Prophecy?” I asked. </p><p>Lance turned towards me. “Kid, you're much more important than you think you are.”</p><p>“What do you mean by that?” I asked again. Suddenly I picked up the sound of a car coming. Lance had picked the sound up too.</p><p>“Can't say now. We’ve gone centuries without detection, except for that one exception about forty years ago, and we don’t need any more publicity.” The loblins started scurrying to the woods. Lance followed them down.</p><p>“What about this prophecy?” I called to him again.</p><p>“We’ll talk later. But now we’re even. You killed our queen, you gave us another. Consider yourself lucky.” said Lance. He noticed the car was almost pulling into the parking lot. “Until next time.”</p><p>And like that, they were gone.</p><p>The car pulled into the parking lot. The familiar frayed paint job of Stan’s El Diablo was a welcome sign for me. I looked over to Mabel and walked to her. WE started walking into the Shack with Grunkle Stan.</p><p>He looked very tired and like he’s been through a couple of brawls as well. He takes one look at me. “Yeesh! You two get hit by a bus or something?” He observed all my cuts and bruises, along with Mabel. “What the hell were you fighting with to rip through your clothes?”</p><p>I didn’t say anything, but Mabel piped up.</p><p>“We had to deal with the morning rush’s crowd control.” she said. I flushed her a look That was a terrible lie!</p><p>Grunkle Stan observed us. Then his facial expression calmed down. “Don’t blame you kids. Some of the people are brutal here.”</p><p>“Pardon me, Grunkle Stan, but may I ask the same to you? What happened to you? Does this have anything to do with your little cod pricing trip.” I asked.</p><p>“All I can say is that I am no longer allowed to buy any seafood from the northwest coast legally anymore.” said Grunkle Stan. “Also, I had not managed to convince the institute to lower prices, but I do have this random guy’s tooth! I punched this out of the sucker’s face!” he said, holding up a tooth.</p><p>As weird as it may see, I had half-expected that that would occur. Grunkle Stan opened up the door to the gift shop. Here we see the last customers of the day stare at us in wonder for a short wile before returning to shopping. Soos was fixing a lightbulb, while Wendy pretended to be working.</p><p>“Hey Mr. Pines!” said Soos, climbing down from a ladder. “How was your business trip?”</p><p>“Great.” lied Stan. “I assume business was booming as usual?”</p><p>Wendy called from the cash register. “It was a little slower today, but still good business.</p><p>“That’s odd…” said Grunkle Stan. “I heard that Dipper and Mabel were nearly trampled by this morning’s rush.”</p><p>I looked at Soos and spun my hands around, trying to indicate that he should go with the story.</p><p>“Uh, I mean yes, we had a very busy morning!” said Soos. “It was just the in-betweens that were so slow. Heh heh. Right, dudes?”</p><p>We all agreed, a little nervous that Grunkle Stan wouldn’t buy it. He is a professional con artist after all.</p><p>He only nodded and turned towards me and Mabel.</p><p>“I’m making dinner in thirty minutes. Go clean up.” he said and ruffled my hair.</p><p>I smiled and headed upstairs with Mabel. We went into our room. Both of us fell on our beds, completely exhausted from today’s adventure. For a while, we were silent, but our excited nature took over.</p><p>“That. Was. Freaking. Awesome!” said Mabel, clearly ecstatic. “Remember when you took down that one fiery dude with one punch?</p><p>“Not as awesome as you getting Lance with that leaf blower! That was insane!” I said, and that statement led me to another question. “Why was that even there anyway?”</p><p>Mabel blushed. “I was totally not practice kissing, if that’s what you’re asking.”</p><p>I raised my eyebrow. I don’t need to be a genius to know how kissing a leaf blower would turn out.</p><p>I couldn’t help but giggle. She’s weird, alright, but she’s my weird sister.</p><p>I took off my shirt and examined it. What a shame. Another good shirt ruined. The Superman shield was separated by a large rip, probably from the fire loblin. I observed the shirt more. Inside, my brain made a connection.</p><p>Lance’s statement echoed through my head. Kid, you're much more important than you think you are.</p><p>“Oh my God, Dipper! You’re bleeding!” cried Mabel from behind me.</p><p>“I am?”</p><p>“Yeah! There’s this huge cut right here!” she said and poked where it was. An explosion of pain shuddered my back.</p><p>“Ow! Be careful! That really hurt!”</p><p>“Do not worry, brother.” said Mabel, while patting my cut, causing more pain. “Nothing a little bit of Neosporin and some Band-Aids won’t fix. I’ll get the first aid kit. Wait right here.” she then speeded out of the room, making ambulance noises.</p><p>I stand up from my bed. I just realized how exhausted I really am. The dull ache of the cut took precedence over every other feeling. I guess I’ll take a shower and clean myself up before Doctor Mabel operates on me.</p><p>I wash myself thoroughly. My scratch burned a lot, but after some time  it faded away till there was no pain at all. I never realized how dirty and grimy I was from today.</p><p>I dressed myself up in a comfortable Superman t-shirt and shorts and came back out into the bedroom. Mabel was already there with the firt aid kit all broken out and ready. Somehow she had found a surgical mask and rubber gloves.</p><p>“Stand back, everyone!” she said to no one in particular. “I’m a professional!”</p><p>“If you’re a professional, I’m scared to see an amateur!” I replied.</p><p>She laid down a white sheet onto the bare floor. “Lay down for me, Mr. Pines.”</p><p>“Uh, sure thing doc.” I said, playing along. I took my shirt off and layed down on the sheet.</p><p>“What the一? When did you get so muscular?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Have you looked at yourself?” she said. I shrugged my shoulders and looked at myself.</p><p>Wow. She’s right. Before now I wasn’t fat, I was still muscular, but I was way leaner.</p><p>“Huh. Would you look at that. Anyway, patch me up, Doc.”</p><p>“Roll over, please.”</p><p>I obliged, and Mabel gasped again.</p><p>“What’s wrong this time?”</p><p>“Where’d it go?”</p><p>“Where’d what go?”</p><p>“The giant cut! It was right here!” she said. I thought for a moment. That large scratch, gone in a matter of minutes?</p><p>“I guess I might have a power of regeneration or something.” I said.</p><p>“Well that sucks, and it’s not fun. No more Doctor Mabel.” she said sadly as she closed up the first aid kit.</p><p>I felt bad for her. “I’m sorry, Mabel.”</p><p>“Don’t be. Besides, if it weren’t for your powers, we’d probably be dead by now.” she said. Her face then brightened up a little bit. “I have an idea.”</p><p>“Uh oh.”</p><p>“Shut up. Have you ever thought about using your powers?”</p><p>“Not really. I’m just trying to fit in right now.”</p><p>“Well you should. Have you noticed how dangerous this town can be with all the weird stuff going on?”</p><p>“You said you didn’t believe in that.”</p><p>“I didn’t until after I learned my boyfriend was a green midget.”</p><p>“So where are you going with this?”</p><p>“What I’m trying to say is that with all these weird creatures going around, someone might get hurt! This town needs a protector, Dipper, and that’s you!”</p><p>“I don’t know. I’m not really sure that’s a good idea. I can’t just go about the town saving people. That would freak them out! If I was to do anything like that I’d wait until the time is right.”</p><p>“Why would you need to wait?”</p><p>“I can’t run around willy nilly and have everyone know that Dipper Pines is a superpowered guy! The government will be all over me, and if that happens it’s likely that I won’t see you ever again!”</p><p>Mabel grabbed my shoulders. “That’s why you need to be Superman.”</p><p>“I’m not Superman. I’m Dipper Pines. Superman doesn’t exist.”</p><p>“Well as far as I’m concerned, he surely does now. Don’t you get it? You saved my life! You saved that small loblin’s life!”</p><p> </p><p>“So what do you suggest then? Should I start wearing glasses and work at the Gossiper?” I said sarcastically.</p><p>“No, but you will need a costume. I’d be happy to comply.” said Mabel, starting to get excited.</p><p>“I don’t need a costume right now. I jjst need to figure myself out.”</p><p>“But Dipper一”</p><p>“Please don’t Dipper me. I’ve got a lot going on in my mind right now. I promise that I’ll think about it. I know I have a gift, but right now I need to clear my head. Why are you being so pushy?”</p><p>“Because, I don’t know if you know at all, but you’re probably one of, if not the only person in the entire world with these gifts. When stuff happens, you'll be the only hope! I don’t want you saving my butt all the time, I want you saving others! Give them another chance at life! Be an inspiration to the townsfolk! Be something special, not just some ordinary guy!”</p><p>“Here’s the thing: I want to be an ordinary guy!”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Back in Piedmont, I was always called the nerd, freak, loser, just about everything negative. I’ve never been given a chance to fit in. I’ve always been an outcast. But here, I have a new start. A clean slate! A chance to actually be accepted as a part of a group!”</p><p>“What about you in the JV baseball team?”</p><p>“Still an outcast. I’ve been ignored and made fun of multiple times for being not like the rest.”</p><p>“So my question is why do you want to be accepted into society as an ordinary guy, when you can still be accepted and be extraordinary?”</p><p>That statement stopped me cold. She did have me there.</p><p>“Kids! Dinner’s ready!” called Grunkle Stan from downstairs.</p><p>Mabel put on a new, clean sweater. “Just think about it.” she left me by myself in the large, empty bedroom.</p><p>I sat down on my bed. I have a lot to think about. My stomach starts rumbling. A little bit of food won’t hurt. I head downstairs for a bite.</p><p>. . . . </p><p>When I had told Mabel that I did not have a decision, she literally sent me out of the house to think more. So here I am, levitating thousands of feet in the air, using a cloud as a bed. We both had good points, and I’m still torn apart between the decision.</p><p>Honestly, I think it would be pretty freaking cool to be a superhero, but I don’t think I’m ready, or responsible enough.</p><p>That’s it. I’ve made my decision.</p><p>I start flying down to the Shack to tell Mabel about the decision. Luckily it was dark so I was basically undetectable.</p><p>Then an orange flicker stood out from the darkness of the landscape. I cocked my head. It certainly is something orange, flickering as well.</p><p>No… could it be?</p><p>I flew down closer and let my telescopic vision take care of the rest.</p><p>It is.</p><p>A fire.</p><p>Acting out of instinct, I flew down as fast as I could. Yep Definitely a fire, engulfing a single family house.</p><p>I crashed in through a window, and examined the floor. I’m on the second floor, and I don’t see anyone yet. My hearing’s picking up sirens from far away. The fire department’s already on its way, but it’ll be too late when they come.</p><p>“Hello? Is there anyone in here?” I shouted. No response.</p><p>A wood beam fell down right beside me, catching fire. This building can come down any second from now.</p><p>“Hello?!” I called again. Then I heard it. A whimper from another room, almost inaudible from the roar of the fire. I hear another voice coming from outside the house.</p><p>“Oh God, where’s little Danny?” said a female. I rushed over to a window.</p><p>“It’s alright ma’am, I’ll get him.” I said.</p><p>“How’d you get up there?”</p><p>I didn’t answer because the ceiling of the room started caving in, blocking off the window. I hear the woman start crying hysterically.</p><p>“Oh God, they’re both gonna die.”</p><p>I hear some wood cracking from the first floor. Crap. That’s probably one of the house’s main supports. The whimpering started again.</p><p>“Don’t worry!” I coughed. “I’m coming!” I entered another room. Fire blanketed the entire ceiling. There, in the closet, I see a little boy, sitting with his knees at his face, weeping.</p><p>I ran and knelt beside him. “Are you Danny?”</p><p>The little boy nodded, looking at me. “Are you an angel?” he asked.</p><p>“No.” I said, smiling. “I’m Superman.” I showed him the shield on my shirt.</p><p>The little boy smiled. “Are you gonna save me?”</p><p>“Yes. Now we have to get up and get out of here, okay?”</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>I picked up and held little Danny in my arms like a baby, and I started walking down the stairs. A crack echoed in my ears as I stepped back and the staircase collapsed. The first floor is now completely on fire. Crap.</p><p>I went back onto the second floor. Fire is everywhere, the smallest amount being from the window in which I entered the house.</p><p>“Danny, have you ever wanted to fly?” I asked.</p><p>“Since I was two.” he responded quietly.</p><p>“Well, your dream’s about to come true.” I said as I started charging to the window, leaping as the floor of the second floor gave way, crashing down to the first floor. The roof started following. Danny screamed. I then used my body as a shield for Danny when we crashed through the rubble blocking the window.</p><p>Just as we passed through the window, the entire house fell in upon itself, and collapsed. Little Danny held onto me tightly, and I flew him down to the ground, about thirty feet away afrom his mother.</p><p>“Danny! Thank God you’re safe!” she cried, still hysterical.</p><p>“I made a new friend, mommy! Look!” Danny pointed at me.</p><p>Uh oh.</p><p>Luckily they were facing the fire, so my face was unlikely to have been seen. Strange as it is, the Superman shield reflected and was the only thing glowing on my body.</p><p>“Look, mommy! It’s Superman! He let me fly with him and everything!”</p><p>The woman stared at me and picked up little Danny. “You… you saved my only son’s life. Thank you so much.”</p><p>“Just doing my job, ma’am.” I said.</p><p>A few seconds later, the fire department, as well as the police and the news van rolled into the scene. I start backing up. I can’t get any more publicity. Not now.</p><p>The doors of the van opened, and people started rushing out.</p><p>Without thinking, I flew up as high as I could, I saw a bright flash and heard the quiet shutter of a camera. Thankfully my face wasn’t facing the flash. I keep ascending, and start paying close attention to the interview between the mother and the news.</p><p>“Who was that?” asked a news reporter.</p><p>“I’m not so sure myself, but whoever he is , he saved my son’s life.”</p><p>“Did we get a photo?’ asked the reporter.</p><p>“Yeah. We’ve got a photo and about a second or two of video.” said the cameraman. “Whoever or whatever that was, it moved very quick.”</p><p>“I know who it is.” said Danny. “It was Superman!”</p><p>I zoned out of the rest of the interview.</p><p>I don’t know if I did the right thing or nor. I mean sure, I saved somebody’s life, but now my identity might be compromised.</p><p>So I guess this is what they meant when they said all heros make sacrifices.</p><p>Once again, the exhaustion hit me like a freight train.</p><p>Is Mabel right? Does this town need a protector? I wonder if this has anything to do with Lance’s mentioning of that prophecy.</p><p>And what happened to the shards, the very things that gave me these powers, back at the author’s lab? Heck, who is the author? Where are there so many weird things at this town?</p><p>I’ve got a feeling that this summer’s going to be one giant mystery, and I think I know just the guy who’s gonna solve it.</p><p>Me.</p><p>But before I solve any mysteries, I have to tie some loose ends in my head.</p><p>Plus, I would love to see Mabel’s face when I tell her this story.</p><p>Looks like this summer won’t be so boring after all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope everyone's enjoying the stories so far! Please leave comments and feedback below and have a great day!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. The Myth of the Writh: Part 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dipper and Mabel seek to find any way to get out of spending the entire day fishing with Stan and his horrid joke book. Luckily, there happens to be a huge threat in the very lake they go to.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This will be a (sort of) parody of the Gobblewonker. After this episode is over, I'm planning on moving towards more original thoughts for episodes.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The second I walked down the stairs the next morning, Mabel slapped a newspaper into my face, all giddy and excited, like she just found twenty bucks on the side of the road.</p>
<p>“Guess who just got on the first page of the newspaper on his fourth day here?” she said.</p>
<p>“What? What do you mean?” I said.</p>
<p>“Read for yourself.” she said after handing me the latest issue of The Gravity Falls Gossiper.</p>
<p>MYSTERIOUS “SUPER-MAN” SAVES CHILD IN DEADLY FIRE<br/>The darkness of last night was interrupted by the bright orange streaks of a raging house fire in the downtown region of Gravity Falls. The Keller household was that unlucky house last night.<br/>“Everything’s gone,” says widow Rachel Keller. “Everything except the clothes we’re wearing right now and ourselves.”<br/>What is left of Keller’s house is a pile of ash and rubble.<br/>“It all happened so fast. One second the smoke alarm went off, the next moment the whole kitchen caught fire.” said Keller.<br/>When Keller left the house, she realized that her son, Danny, stayed behind after being separated. Luckily, an unknown man had come into the house and saved the boy’s life just moments before the building collapsed.<br/>“Who he is, I don’t know, but he’s someone special.” commented Keller.<br/>Gossiper’s photograph intern Isabelle Sterling snapped one picture of the man after leaving the scene.<br/>“The scariest thing about that man is that he can fly. He can freaking fly!” commented Dan Corduroy, fellow neighbor of Keller, following the incident.<br/>“The odd thing is that he had no logical explanation of his supposed “flight.” No jetpack. No evidence of propulsion in the yard. No catapult lying anywhere. There’s no scientific explanation of what Ms. Keller saw.” reported physicist and fellow neighbor Dr. Abigore Lovecraft. “It’s not certain, but possible that this may be of supernatural origin.”<br/>“I never got a good glimpse of him,” recalled Keller. “The only thing I can remember from this man is that Superman shield he wore right on his chest, which in this situation is kind of corny, but still, he saved my son, which is miraculous and I will be eternally grateful.”<br/>The public dubbed this mysterious stranger’s name as the “Superman” and local legends are already spreading like wildfires about this figure.<br/>“We’ll see this man again.” commented Corduroy. “It’ll only be a matter of time.”<br/>On the bright side for Ms. Keller, Gravity Falls’ Red Cross foundation has already chipped in over $50,000 in relief money overnight to help out a homeless Ms. Keller and her son Danny.</p>
<p>“I guess you made the right choice!” said Mabel, in repetition. She was clearly proud that her prediction apparently came true.</p>
<p>“I had to do what I had to do.” I said. “I’m still on the fence about this whole thing. Plus, this kind of publicity is exactly the opposite of what I wanted in the first place. I’m more popular within a week here than I was back at Piedmont all my life!”</p>
<p>“And what’s so bad about that?”</p>
<p>“There’s a difference between good and bad popularity, and I’m not too sure which kind of popularity this is.” I say, pointing my finger at the front page of the Gossiper.</p>
<p>“Whether it’s good or bad should be up to the media.” whispered Mabel as we headed downstairs. “That shouldn’t stop you from what you’re doing.”</p>
<p>“Enough with this. I have no desire at all to argue about this all day. Plus, I’m super hungry.”</p>
<p>“Super-hungry Superman, huh?” said Mable before leaving into the kitchen, leaving me at the base of the stairs.</p>
<p>Normally if I slept in this late, Grunkle Stan would yell at me, but he walked into the kitchen minutes after we did, while wearing his lounge pants and greasy tank top. He and I both grunted in acknowledgement and grabbed a bowl of cereal.</p>
<p>“Grunkle Stan, is the Shop opening later today?” Mabel asked.</p>
<p>Stan sniffed the milk to check if it was still good. “Shack’s closed today.”</p>
<p>Mabel and I raised our eyebrows. He would never pass up any opportunity to make a profit.</p>
<p>Grunkle Stan read our expressions like a book. “Your parents wanted me to do one of these cheesy ‘bonding’ type deals. I guess it’s more of a thing so you don’t feel like I’m enslaving you.”</p>
<p>How considerate of my parents.</p>
<p>“I know, I know,” started Mr. Mystery, “you’d rather run around and make satanic rituals in the woods, but I promise you, we’re gonna have some good classic, old-fashioned fun.”</p>
<p>“Define old-fashioned, Grunkle Stan.” I said pointing a finger at him, but he ignored me.</p>
<p>“Who wants to put on handcuffs and blindfolds and get into my car?” he exclaimed.</p>
<p>“Yay!” cheered Mabel. I felt the exact opposite.</p>
<p>“Excuse me? None of that sounds legal.” I said.</p>
<p>Grunkle Stan gave me the creepiest smile. “Out here, I am the law, so  ANYTHING’S legal, kid.”</p>
<p>I didn’t say anything else, because in that one sentence, I have developed a great fear of our legal(?) guardian for the summer.</p>
<p>A few minutes later Mabel and I sat in the car, speeding along a really bumpy road, blindfolded. I really hope the road is bumpy and we’re not running over people. We hit another large bump in the road.</p>
<p>“Grunkle Stan, you’re not running people over, right?” I ask, hoping I was right.</p>
<p>Grunkle Stan let out a demonic chuckle. “Dipper, if I was running people over, you’d be hearing their screams of torment.”</p>
<p>Even Mabel was starting to fear the man.</p>
<p>Suddenly the car stopped, and Mabel and I flew up and hit our faces on the headrests of the front row of the car.</p>
<p>Grunkle Stan opened up both of our car doors. I smelled salty air, and heard the sound of waves crashing against the ground. I decided not to use any x-ray vision on this, because I admit: I wanted to be surprised too.</p>
<p>Mabel took notice of the same sensations as I did. “Grunkle Stan? Are we at the beach?” I could hear the excitement in her voice.</p>
<p>“Even better, kiddo.” said Grunkle Stan as he started untying the blindfolds. “Just keep them blindfolds on till I say so, ok?”</p>
<p>“Ok,” I said with hesitation. I half expect the man to get back in his car and drive away. That would be a good prank. Note to self: pull this kind of prank on Mabel.</p>
<p>“Alright, you’re good! Open ‘em up!” cried Grunkle Stan.</p>
<p>Mabel and I quickly took our blindfolds off, only to be blinded by the mass amount of light. We haven’t seen anything but pure darkness for almost half an hour.</p>
<p>“My eyes burn.” said Mabel. “Were the blindfolds and handcuffs absolutely necessary?”</p>
<p>“The blindfolds? Necessary. Now, the handcuffs, I wanted to see if any of you could get out of them. That’s a great acquired skill.” said Stan.</p>
<p>I could have easily ripped the handcuffs off like it was made of paper, but the old man’s smarter than he looks, and he would immediately be suspicious.</p>
<p>Once my eyes adjusted, I saw the man wearing very goofy fishing gear, and holding three fishing rods in his hand, each squirming with live bait. Mabel and I stared, not saying a single word.</p>
<p>“Alright you two knuckleheads, since you don’t get it, today we’re going to fish!” said Grunkle Stan whilst un-handcuffing us. </p>
<p>Again we stood there, staring blankly.</p>
<p>“Aw, come on! It’ll be fun! It’s kind of like online dating, but with fish!” insisted Grunkle Stan again, turning around to get something in his bait and tackle box. “You find one, say hi to it, and you dump it back in the lake, preferably alive.” </p>
<p>The old man scares me.</p>
<p>“At least he doesn’t have that horrible joke book that he read to us the other day.” whispered Mabel to me. Grunkle Stan turned back around, so we cocked our heads forward.</p>
<p>“Look! I brought the joke book!” he said, holding that same, ridiculous joke book that he read the other day.</p>
<p>“You had to say that.” I said to Mabel.</p>
<p> “There has to be a way out of this.” she whispered.</p>
<p>“There is no way out of this.” remarked Grunkle Stan. “Just us three, out on the lake, fishing, until the cops chase us out.”</p>
<p>“We are not staying out there for the whole day.” said Mabel. </p>
<p>“Quit being such a baby! I brought sunscreen and sandwiches right here!” said Grunkle Stan, patting another box, stacked next to the bait and tackle box. He opened up and I saw his smile fade. “Well kids, I hope you ate a big breakfast, because I brought some extra bait instead! One whiff of this, and you won’t need a lunch!”</p>
<p>“Won’t need a lunch? I’m about to lose mine!” I gagged under my breath. Unfortunately, I have also developed a superhuman sense of smell, and could smell the bait.</p>
<p>I took one look at Mabel, and she returned the look to me. “We can’t-- I can’t do this.” she mouthed. I nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>Suddenly the peacefulness of the lake was interrupted by the ear-splitting sound of cracking wood and moving water. </p>
<p>“It was here!” screamed an elderly man. “It sunk my boat!” He was hysterical. A crowd of people began surrounding the dock where the sound originated from. Because all three of us were curious, we headed over there as well.</p>
<p>“It was the Writh! Thing almost killed me!” cried the man again.</p>
<p>I pushed to the front of the crowd. “The what?”</p>
<p>“The Writh, boy! It capsized my boat and went toward Ingpoo Island! Somebody’s got to stop it before it kills someone!” he cried again, shaking me with his hands clutching my shoulders.</p>
<p>I swat his hands off of me. “Grunkle Stan, is this guy for real?”</p>
<p>“Dipper, that’s Old Man McGucket.” replied Grunkle Stan. “The guy I warned you about. Don’t take his word for these kind of things.”</p>
<p>“Don’t just take my word for it,” said the man. “Look!” He pointed towards the end of the dock.</p>
<p>Amazingly, a very large chunk of the dock was seemingly bitten off by a rather large creature, and a boat sat at the foot of the dock, in two pieces, capsized.</p>
<p>“Look at the size of that bite mark!” said Mabel. “It’s gotta be at least three feet in diameter.”</p>
<p>I take a couple of steps closer and inspect the bite mark. “It’s almost four feet in diameter. What exactly does a Writh look like again?”</p>
<p>“Basically it’s the Loch Ness Monster.” replied Grunkle Stan. “Giant, reptilian beast with a long neck and glowing red eyes and teeth as big as steak knives. Don’t think the thing’s real though.”</p>
<p>“Judging by the size of this bite mark, I’d roughly say the size of this thing could easily be almost fifty feet long, maybe even bigger.” I remark. Honestly, I hope this thing doesn’t exist. My thought was interrupted by Mabel nudging me. “What?” I whisper.</p>
<p>“Don’t you get it? This is our way out of that fishing nightmare.” she said. A light bulb popped up in my head. I moved over to Grunkle Stan.</p>
<p>“Change of plans, Grunkle Stan, we’re going to follow the Writh to Ingpoo Island so we can capture the monster.” I said to Stan, who didn’t look so pleased.</p>
<p>“Look, you two can go hunt for this nonexistent monster for the whole day, or you can be with me, where we can catch real monsters, like cod! Maybe I can make a bootlegging business, selling the cod super cheap. I’d make good money. Get back at that seafood pricing institute.” said Grunkle Stan.</p>
<p>“That’s a good offer,” I lied, “but Mabel and I really want to go on a monster hunt.”</p>
<p>“Heck yea we do!” she joined in and high-fived me. “Monster hunt!” she growled like a warrior.</p>
<p>“Did someone say monster hunt?” said a familiar voice. Mabel and I turned around. Sure enough, Soos was there, docking with a rather nice-looking boat.</p>
<p>“Soos! What are you doing here?” asked Mabel.</p>
<p>“I’m enjoying the day off, dudes.” said Soos. “It’s the first day of fishing season.”</p>
<p>“Soos, wanna catch a really big fish?” I asked.</p>
<p>Soos looked at his wrist, which had no watch on it. “Yeah, I’ve got time to kill. Hop on board!”</p>
<p>“That’s alright, waste your time!” shouted Grunkle Stan. Mabel pulled me aside.</p>
<p>“Dipper, are you sure we’re doing the right thing here? Grunkle Stan looks pretty upset about this.” she said.</p>
<p>“First of all: if that McGucket is telling even an ounce of truth, I can’t have this beast prowl around the lake killing people! Not when I’m here and I can do something. Also I don’t want to listen to terrible puns for ten hours.” I said.</p>
<p>“You have two good points,” said Mabel. “But you know how he gets when he’s lonely.”</p>
<p>“We shouldn’t spend the whole day looking though. We should spend time with the old man.” I said. Mabel nodded in agreement. “Grunkle Stan, we’re going to look for monsters. We’ll be back by three.”</p>
<p>“Here. Take this.” said Grunkle Stan, flinging over a walkie talkie to me. “In case you need to reach me. Please be back by three, ok? I don’t know what I would do if something bad happens to you.”</p>
<p>“Nothing bad will happen, Grunkle Stan.” I said, crossing my heart with my fingers. “I promise. Ok Soos, fire her up.”</p>
<p>“You got it, dawg.” said Soos whilst firing up the boat.</p>
<p>“I don’t even think there’s cod in this lake.” I heard Stan mutter as we sped off towards Ingpoo Island. I admit, I felt bad, but I would much rather do this than fish.</p>
<p>. . . .</p>
<p>“Soos, how did you even get a boat this decent?” I asked Soos as we continued our cruise.</p>
<p>“A couple of years ago, I helped Mr. Pines rob over $50,000 from the local bank.” Soos said blankly. “Never got caught. Spent it on the boat. Too bad I never use it.”</p>
<p>“Why didn’t you use it on a new truck?” asked Mabel.</p>
<p>Soos pondered for a bit. “You know, that would’ve probably made more sense. That old thing’s a rustbucket. Huh.”</p>
<p>“Soos, I would never expect you to commit a felony.” I said. “That is so wrong.”</p>
<p>“I know dude, but it’s a sweet ride.” said Soos, patting the boat as if it was some sort of pet. I do admit, though. It was a pretty sweet boat.</p>
<p>“Soos, you’re a criminal.” repeated Mabel. “That is SO COOL! Are you going to get like a jail tattoo or something?”</p>
<p>“Nah, dawg. Tattoos are overrated. Plus it’s not allowed in the Bible.” replied Soos.</p>
<p>“Well robbing a bank isn’t exactly saintly either, my friend.” I retort.</p>
<p>“Fair point, fair point” admitted Soos.</p>
<p>. . . . </p>
<p>After a few minutes, everything went completely out of control. The boat suddenly shook violently, almost sailing everyone overboard.</p>
<p>“What the heck was that?” Mabel asked before dry-heaving.</p>
<p>I stood up. “I should go check it out. See if we took any damage in the hull.”</p>
<p>“Maybe I should go. I am the captain.” replied Soos.</p>
<p>“NO!” yelled Mabel suddenly. “Uh, I mean, let Dipper go. He’s a pretty good swimmer.” She looked a little flustered, but she knew that if there was a Writh, I would probably stand a better chance in examining the hull.</p>
<p>“Cool down, Mabel. He knows.” I said, trying to calm her down. “He knows.”</p>
<p>“Dipper, what are you talking about?” sweated Mabel nervously. She turned towards Soos. “He’s probably got a screw loose from the heat.”</p>
<p>Soos raised an eyebrow. “I know the dude can fly. He, like, used a cheat code on life.”</p>
<p>Mabel swatted my shoulder. “Why did you tell him? No offense, Soos, but I’d literally tell anyone before him.”</p>
<p>“None taken.” said Soos, who was at the time making a footlong meatball sub. Where did he even get the ingredients?</p>
<p>“Are you kidding? I trust Soos with my life!” I said to Mabel. “It’s safe to say my secret’s safe with him.”</p>
<p>“Then again,” eavesdropped Soos, “I wasn’t supposed to tell a single soul about stealing the $50k…”</p>
<p>Mabel raised an eyebrow at me. </p>
<p>“Ok, you might have a point.” I reply. “But what’s done is done. He knows now.”</p>
<p>“Ok, ok, just be careful with this identity thing. There’s only a handful you can trust fully. Just keep that in mind.” she said. I nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>“So it’s decided? I’ll head down underwater and check it out.” I said.</p>
<p>“Yea, just go over towards that chest and wear one of them scuba suits, cuz I have no idea if you’re able to breathe underwater or not. Please be careful.” said Soos between bites of the meatball sub.</p>
<p>“Where are the oxygen tanks?” I asked while struggling to put the suit on.</p>
<p>“That’s the one thing I hate about this boat. There’s a giant keg of oxygen over there on the corner. Attach one of the tubes to the suit, and you’ll have more than enough oxygen to check the hull. Just don’t rupture the tube, otherwise it’s lakewater you’ll breathe, and that probably wouldn’t be good.” said Soos, pointing to the giant keg. “Please be careful, dude. Tug twice for us to pull you up. Tug three times for ‘oh nuts get me out of here.’ Any questions?”</p>
<p>“Yeah. How exactly do I attach the tube to a breathing apparatus? There’s none here.”</p>
<p>“Oh yeah. That leads to another disadvantage.” replied Soos while fishing through another chest. Eventually he picked up a large helmet, with a giant circular clas window in the front, exactly like the giant “cyclops” in the Spongebob Movie, or the guardian of Shell City. “You’ll have to lug this thing around as well. Luckily it has a flashlight attachment here, so you can see stuff other than just lake scum.” he said, pushing a button on the helmet, and a beam of light protruded from the front of the mask.</p>
<p>“Cool.” I said while putting on the breathing helmet, securing it. I walked over to the edge of the boat and sat on the ledge, my feet dangling off the side. “Does this suit make my butt look big?” I jokingly asked. Mabel only rolled her eyes.</p>
<p>“Remember, tug twice for up, three times for ‘take me up now or I’ll die.’ Ok?” asked Soos.</p>
<p>“Copy that.” I said, giving Soos a reassuring thumbs-up.</p>
<p>“Be careful.” said Mabel to me. “I know you have super powers and all, but don’t get super confident. If this thing’s really real, you have no idea what it can do.”</p>
<p>“I know that. I’ll be careful as can be. I promise.” I said to her. I turn to Soos as well. “Captain.” I saluted before plunging into the murky waters of the lake.</p>
<p>Alright. Time to get to business. I couldn’t see anything in the murkiness and dirtiness of the lake, so I instinctively turn on the headlight of the giant, uncomfortable helmet. There I see a giant beam of light penetrate through the lakewater, and I see the shiny, white surface of the boat’s hull.</p>
<p>I swam over to the other side of the boat, since I didn’t find any damage marks on the port side. Yep. The starboard side looks good too. Not a single scratch anywhere. So what almost made the boat capsize?</p>
<p>Suddenly I heard a very loud growl, which did not sound like it came from very far away. I have never heard a growl like that ever in my life, not even in the sci-fi movies. Soon after, I heard it again, but it sounded more distant than the last. I breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever it was, Writh or not, it was swimming away. I swam back up to the surface to relay the information back to Mabel and Soos.</p>
<p>As I surfaced, I took the ridiculously bulky helmet off and laid it right next to me on the water. I decided to stay in the water because it was honestly refreshing to be in the lake rather than back out in this hot June day.</p>
<p>“Captain, I got no damage to report.” I said in a silly sailor voice while saluting Soos.</p>
<p>“That’s great, dude. Didn’t see anything fishy down there?” asked Soos.</p>
<p>I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Soos’s terrible pun. “Not a single fish anywhere.” I said. “Although I did hear a rather ominous roar from far away, and I believe it went that way.” I pointed back towards Ingpoo Island.</p>
<p>“Copy that, private.” said Mabel, copying the silly salute back to me. “Climb aboard!” she said, tossing a rope overboard and in my direction. I grabbed the rope and started pulling myself closer towards the boat.</p>
<p>Now this is when it starts hitting the fan.</p>
<p>While pulling myself in, I felt a little tug on my left leg. Instinctively, I gripped the rope tighter and began fighting back against the tugging force. For a second, I broke free.</p>
<p>“Soos! Floor it!” I wailed in distress. </p>
<p>“Did you find it?” asked Soos while slowly increasing the speed.</p>
<p>“No. I think it found me.” I said again, looking behind me to see if anything’s still there.</p>
<p>I groaned again as the tugging force returned, this time much stronger than before. I lose grip of the rope for a fraction of a second, and now only my head, upper shoulders, and my right hand holding onto the rope were above the surface of the water. I feel the teeth of whatever’s tugging digging into my skin, but not yet breaking my skin. The teeth almost feel like steel.</p>
<p>Mabel saw my struggle and gasped in horror. “Soos, he’s not kidding. Kick this thing in overdrive.”</p>
<p>“You got it.” said Soos with a determined look of concern on his face. He pushed down the throttle all the way, and the boat started speeding up.</p>
<p>However, in the process, I lost even more grip, and my head fell under the water. When I opened my eyes underwater, a sense of true fear coursed through my veins. What I saw wasn’t much, but enough to probably keep me up for a few nights.</p>
<p>Blood red glowing eyes, easily the size of volleyballs, ominously illuminating, each pupil excitedly dilating, as if it had just found its lunch. I gasped, and lakewater flooded into my mouth, causing me to cough.</p>
<p>I used my right leg to kick back at the Writh, kicking with all my might. If it keeps hold onto me, it’s game over for sure.</p>
<p>I brought my head back up out of the water. Immediately the wind hit my face like an icy blanket, and I started coughing up lakewater. My wet hair was clinging to my face, making it hard for me to see.  “Soos! It’s got me! Nng!” I grunt as the beast pulls with even more force, causing the boat to slow down a little bit.</p>
<p>I tried kicking even harder, but it was no use. The thing was not budging.</p>
<p>“Dipper! Kick its butt!” cried Mabel from the port. My head came back underwater, where all I heard was violent growling from right behind me.</p>
<p>I gasped again after my head emerged back from the water. “Mabel! Cut the rope!” I shouted, looking at the rope tied to the side of the boat.</p>
<p>“What? Are you kidding? I’d never do that!” gasped Mabel.</p>
<p>“Mabel, this thing’s gonna bring the whole boat down!” I screamed. “Cut the rope!” My body was dragged back under the water, where I came face to face with the Writh. With my free hand I tried bashing its snout, trying anything to get it to release its iron grip on me, but to no avail. I tried pulling more on the rope, and my head resurfaced. </p>
<p>“I can’t break free!” I said, lots of effort put into words, since I’m using almost all of my energy to just hold onto the rope. “Cut the rope! Now!”</p>
<p>“I can’t do that!” cried Mabel. “I don’t know what I’d do with myself!” As she said that, the boat started  leaning to the starboard side. The boat’s starting to capsize.</p>
<p>“CUT THE ROPE!” I screamed. “Look! You can help me later! It’s not going to do any good for you or me if the boat is capsized! Cut the rope!”</p>
<p>“I’m not leaving you behind. Why would you ever ask that?” she started crying.</p>
<p>“I’m not asking. Go!” I grunted as I used my heat vision to zap the rope, breaking it, and setting the boat free. “I’ll be fine. If I can, I’ll lead this thing to the island. Head there!”</p>
<p>“Dip, no!” cried Mabel. She almost jumped overboard, but Soos caught her in the nick of time.</p>
<p>“Go!” I cried again before I was dragged underwater yet again by the beast. I heard Mabel call out my name right before I submerged.</p>
<p>The beast let go of my leg, and we both stayed right where we were, face to face. Its luminescent, angry red eyes pierce through me, hungrily. </p>
<p>I refused to move a muscle, because I know sudden movement would not be a good idea, especially with a monster that has at least forty feet and a couple of tons on you.</p>
<p>Then it begins circling me.</p>
<p>Moving ever so gently, it swims around, eyeing me up from every angle, determining if the effort was worth the meal in front of it. I kept my eyes on it the whole time, but I had another problem that came to my attention.</p>
<p>I was running out of oxygen.</p>
<p>Since I was curious, I took a very small sip of the lakewater to see if I could breathe underwater.</p>
<p>Nope.</p>
<p>I can’t breathe underwater. </p>
<p>This is quite the pickle that I’m in.</p>
<p>The Writh keeps circling me, not making any moves towards me at all.</p>
<p>Oh, God.</p>
<p>It’s waiting me out. It knows I have to breathe soon. Once I swim upwards, it’ll make its move. It knows it has me. It knows it’s stronger than me. It knows my vitality underwater.</p>
<p>I gotta think of something now or else I’ll be lunch.</p>
<p>Hmm… I wonder if those eyes are sensitive to light. Any by light I mean heat vision. It might be my only hope.</p>
<p>I knew it would probably be hard to generate heat vision underwater about 20 or thirty feet, so I concentrated with even more determination than normal. I can feel the fire building up in my corneas. I know I don’t need that much, only enough to distract it while I fly away.</p>
<p>With the most effort I could, I fired my heat vision for the Writh’s eyes. Not much happened, but a large pop, like a firecracker going off in front of my face. The Writh writhed in pain for a second, not because I hit it with the heat vision, but probably with either the flash of light or the loud noise. Regardless of how it was distracted, it was distracted, and I needed to take advantage of it.</p>
<p>I started swimming up as fast as I could, trying to let my flight do the rest. My head popped out of the water, and I gasped for air.</p>
<p>I gotta get out of here.</p>
<p>I tried flying out of the water, but it was much more difficult than on land, probably because I need a jump start. Finally I started levitating, and within a second or two I was airborne. </p>
<p>And I would’ve gotten away with it, if it wasn’t for that meddling monster. </p>
<p>Before I could fly away and rejoin Mabel and Soos, the Writh somehow surfaced, and slapped me with its tail, right in the gut. It knocked the wind out of me, and sent me about twenty feet backwards, back into the lake.</p>
<p>I barely had time to know what was going on when the beast wrapped its tail around me, preventing me from any means of escape.</p>
<p>I tried my heat vision again. The firecracker pop happened, but this time much weaker, and the Writh was unfazed.</p>
<p> Then it bellowed that same mighty roar, and as it roared, little chunks of fish and flesh shot out of its mouth. I couldn’t help but scream at the monstrosity in front of me, vital bubbles of oxygen escaping my lungs.</p>
<p>I’ve never been so scared in my life.</p>
<p>I continued struggling, but it was no use. Its grip was too powerful, even for me.</p>
<p>The Writh started tightening its grip on me, like how a snake squeezes the life out of its prey. That makes it much more difficult to even struggle. It’s cutting off my circulation. I can’t move.</p>
<p>Can’t breathe.</p>
<p>Can’t…. Think….</p>
<p>Right before I felt myself blacking out, I saw a bright flash.</p>
<p>. . . . </p>
<p>Third Person</p>
<p>Stan sighed, as another fish escaped from his grasp. He never got quite a good hold of how to fish. Good thing his job wasn’t to be a professional fisherman.</p>
<p>He brought up the fishing line again, where the bait was gone, making a mockery of Stan’s failed attempt to catch a fish. He couldn’t help but sigh again. Hopefully those kids are having better luck with their monster hunt than he is with fishing.</p>
<p>Even for being a boring old man, he was getting bored himself. He looked at his watch for the hundredth time in the past five minutes. It was still half past ten.</p>
<p>He’s gotta do something exciting while the kids are out playing with the much larger kid.</p>
<p>But what to do…</p>
<p>“I’ve got it!” he said to no one in particular. “I’ll just go around bothering other people to cope with my loneliness!” He said this in a very cheerful tone despite the depressing truth.</p>
<p>Stan revved up his boat and sped off to pester any poor townsperson that was in his way.</p>
<p>. . . . </p>
<p>First Person (Dip)</p>
<p>Uhn…</p>
<p>What happened? </p>
<p>Am I dead?</p>
<p>I try opening my eyes, but my eyelids are too heavy to actually open them. My ears pick up whispers, voices that sound familiar, and a voice that doesn’t sound familiar, but my mind’s in too much of a jumble to recognize them.</p>
<p>“Shush, shush, I think he’s stirring.” whispered a voice to my left.</p>
<p>I continued stirring, rubbing my head after sitting up. I finally opened my eyes. “My head… it hurts sooo much.” I grunt. “Where am I? And who are you?”</p>
<p>“Dipper, it’s me.” says the figure to my left. Now that my mind is more focused, I noticed it was my twin sister, Mabel.</p>
<p>“Mabel? What are you doing here?” I asked, rubbing my head. “Where am I?” I grunted again and fell back down on the ground.</p>
<p>“Just take it easy, Dip. You almost died.” said Mabel, helping me sit up again. </p>
<p>“Yea, dawg. You’re lucky we found you.” said Soos to my right. My vision was still blurry, and there was still a shadowy figure in front of me. Mabel noticed me staring at the figure and blurted right in.</p>
<p>“Oh, yes, how rude of me to not introduce him.” she interjected. “This is Alexander.” She gestured her arms, presenting the shadowy figure in front of me.</p>
<p>Zovczmwvi nvzmh "kilgvxgli lu nzmprmw" rm Tivvp. </p>
<p>The man called Alexander walked forward, where light finally shone on his face. He was an incredibly handsome teenage boy, with sandy blonde hair, and electric blue eyes. He had a cleft chin, and his face boasted true handsomeness. His only flaw was a lightning-shaped scar over his right eye.</p>
<p>Wait a second…</p>
<p>He looks all too familiar to me. I’ve seen him in town once or twice before. Electric blue eyes.... Lightning-shaped scar. Flash of light before I passed out.</p>
<p>“It’s you, isn’t it?” I suddenly said, pointing at the man. “You saved me?”</p>
<p>Alexander shrugged his broad, muscular shoulders and grunted with a hint of a Greek accent. “I guess I did.” he said simply. “Just a lifeguard doing his job.” He showed me his lifeguard shirt as well as his megaphone.</p>
<p>I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. I was not buying it. “Where’d you get that scar?” I said, pointing to my eye, hinting about his own eye.</p>
<p>His finger traced over it. “Oh yes, that… I don’t like talking about it. Lifeguarding accident.” he said again. He reeked of total bs.</p>
<p>“What’s your gimmick with Lightning, bud? I’m not that stupid. I know something’s up.” I said, raising my voice.</p>
<p>Alexander looked over at Mabel and Soos. “Would you mind if I had a word with this Dipper fellow?” His voice was incredibly charismatic. Mabel and Soos obliged, to my avail. When they left, it was just me and him in this dark, dank room.</p>
<p>“Who are you?” I asked with an aggressive tone.</p>
<p>“I already told you this.” he said patiently. “My name is Alexander.” He offered his hand to help me up, but I stood up myself.</p>
<p>“Well, Alexander, I really appreciate you saving my life and all, but I’m going to need a lot more information than that.”</p>
<p>“You’re him, aren’t you?” he interjected. </p>
<p>“What are you talking about?”</p>
<p>“It’s my turn to not be that stupid. Why would you go after an all-powerful lake monster with such primitive equipment? How could you even survive the blows by the creature?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I lied. “How would you even know such a beast existed?”</p>
<p>“When you’ve been a lake patroller for five years, you learn a thing or two.” Alexander replied. He stared at my Superman shirt for a second. “You’re him, aren’t you?” he said again.</p>
<p>“What? You think I’m that Super-man guy? You’re crazy!” I scoffed. This Alexander is worrying me. He already knows too much, and I’ve known him for three and a half minutes.</p>
<p>“Then how do you explain the small explosion about thirty seconds before I rescued you underwater?”</p>
<p>“What explosion?” I said, trying desperately to play dumb. Alexander narrowed his eyes. Both of them became completely electric blue, and observed me.</p>
<p>“I just read the electric charges of your neurological system. You’re lying.” he stated, crossing his arms.</p>
<p>“I knew it!” I said triumphantly. “I knew there was something up with you! I knew you had something electric up with you!”</p>
<p>“And there’s still something up with you.” he said. “I’m going to get to the bottom of this. Are you the Super-man?”</p>
<p>“No!” I said again.</p>
<p>Suddenly, Alexander charged and fired a lightning bolt right at my face. Thanks to some super-reflexes I fired a blast of heat vision to counter it. Once he stopped firing, I stopped firing as well.</p>
<p>“So you are the Superman.” he said, pleased with his findings.</p>
<p>“And you’re a living power grid.” I said as well. “I’ve heard legends of you. Some sort of ‘guardian’ of this town. I respect that.”</p>
<p>Alexander put his hand on my shoulder, and I felt a little shock. “I didn’t think there would be another Super like me. I’m so glad I’m wrong, especially since this whole town’s taking a dark turn. I need your help.”</p>
<p>I raised an eyebrow. “So who exactly are you again?”</p>
<p>“My name is Alexander Brontes, but please, call me Lex.” he said, offering his hand.</p>
<p>“Uh, I’m Dipper Pines.” I said, taking his hand and shaking it. “How long have you had these powers?” </p>
<p>“I need to take you somewhere,” said Lex. It’s obvious he ignored my last question. His voice was much deeper than normal. Somehow extra shadows dramatically found his face. I looked around, puzzled as to how that’s even possible.</p>
<p>“Um, where?” I asked.</p>
<p>“Just follow me.” boomed Lex. “They know about you, right?”</p>
<p>I nodded.</p>
<p>“Good. Take your friends with you as well. I’d imagine that they wouldn’t want to be lost underground forever.”</p>
<p>I shrugged my shoulders and rounded up the other two and told them that we were going on a field trip.</p>
<p>. . . . </p>
<p>“You know, you can kill vegetarian vampires with a steak to the heart.” laughed Stan while closing his joke book.</p>
<p>The poor fisherman groaned. “Do I even know you?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, you’re that guy I ripped off with that overpriced snow-globe at the Shack. Wanna hear another joke?”</p>
<p>“I think I’d rather file a divorce.” said the fisherman between sighs.</p>
<p>“Now that itself is funny. Marriage is hilarious! It’s funny because it’s terrible!” Stan called as the fisherman was driving his boat away.</p>
<p>“One day I’ll get him.” muttered Stan through a smile. “Who’s my next victim?”</p>
<p>He sped off in search to fill his void.</p>
<p>. . . .</p>
<p>“Where are you taking us this time?” I couldn’t help but ask Lex while we walk through the cavern. “Also, no one has answered my question of where we are!”</p>
<p>“Right now, we’re in a small cave located under Ingpoo Island.” said Lex patiently. </p>
<p>Soos snapped a picture of the cave we were in. “Wow! I’ve never been in a cave before!”</p>
<p>“Did you carve these tunnels out?” I asked, running out to Lex. The way we were walking, there were no lights in this part of the cave.</p>
<p>Lex grabbed a torch off a stand on the cave wall. “Light me.” he said, gesturing toward the torch. I lit the torch up with my heat vision, and there was light. “These tunnels have been here since before I was born. Before the First.”</p>
<p>“Before the first what?” I asked curiously.</p>
<p>Lex quickly shushed me. For a second or two, the cave shuddered, ever so slightly.</p>
<p>“Um, what was that?” asked Mabel, clearly not thrilled with that experience.</p>
<p>“Mild tremor. Probably means the Writh landed himself in the island. It probably picked up your scent.” said Lex, looking at me. “Might want to eat you first.”</p>
<p>“What?” I groaned. “If I was the beast, I would definitely eat Soos first! No offense, Soos.”</p>
<p>“I’d probably eat me too if I were the lake monster.” concluded Soos.</p>
<p>We continued walking for a little while, every couple of minutes a very slight tremor took place. I figured that it must be pretty hard for that thing to move itself on the ground. Hmm… I wonder if that’s the way we could capture this beast. Maybe we shouldn’t fish for it in its own pool and try to get it out of water. I look to my left and it appears that Lex is thinking the same thing.</p>
<p>“Are we thinking the same thing?” I asked to Lex. He’s still deep in thought.</p>
<p>Soos jumped right in. “Sandwich time?” He was somehow holding a loaf of bread and already started spreading peanut butter on it.</p>
<p>I raised an eyebrow at Soos, but Mabel obliged and took one of Soos’s sandwiches.</p>
<p>“If we manage to beach the thing,” started Lex.</p>
<p>“And trap it in land,” I continued.</p>
<p>“Then we would have a better chance at incarcerating it! Bingo!” called Lex. “And this time, I know it will work!”</p>
<p>“You’ve tried this before?” I asked.</p>
<p>“Many times before, my friend, but this time? It’s different. There’s you. I’m not doing it by myself this time. It’s foolproof!” he muttered to himself.</p>
<p>“What’s your master plan?” asked Mabel while eating her peanut-butter sandwich.</p>
<p>“The thing, it’s not as mobile on the land, right?” started Lex. Mabel and I nodded. “Then if we both trap it at the same time, and you get on it and knock it cold, we might actually put an end to that horrible thing.”</p>
<p>“Yeah but that’s the thing…” I interject. “It’s gonna take a lot more than you think just to ‘knock it cold.’ I know that it’s a durable beast.”</p>
<p>“What if you two just combine your powers? I’m sure some brute strength and lightning magic would send that thing sleeping.” interjected Mabel.</p>
<p>“We could try and draw it out of the water with my lightning…” started Lex.</p>
<p>I shook my head. “No, that could fry every single living thing in the lake, including the people and marine life. There has to be another way.”</p>
<p>“Well, how else can we get that thing out of the water?” rebutted Lex.</p>
<p>“Why don’t one of you two just bait the thing onto land?” said Soos, finishing his sandwich. “I mean that thing just like went after Dipper and didn’t pay attention to anything else.”</p>
<p>Lex pondered for a moment. “Mabel, you are onto something.” Then he turned to me. “And I know exactly who is going to be the bait.”</p>
<p>“You’re kidding me, right? I do not want to experience that horror again! Can’t you do it?” I whined, turning to Mabel.</p>
<p>Mabel shook her head. “Soos and I aren’t fast enough, even for it being on land, plus Lex already took it down, so I’d imagine it would know something’s up if it followed him. Plus it’ll be fun! It’s like a really serious game of tag!”</p>
<p>“I nearly died.” I replied.</p>
<p>“Quit being such a baby and take one for the team!” snapped Mabel. “For all we know, that thing could be killing people while we’re bickering.”</p>
<p>“She has a point, you know.” added Lex.</p>
<p>“Alright, fine! I’ll do it!” I said. “Under one condition!”</p>
<p>“Name it. I’ll do it.” said Mabel.</p>
<p>“Not you,” I said, “him.” I pointed at Lex.</p>
<p>“What?” he looked surprised.</p>
<p>“I want you to tell me your whole story after we finish this. Who you are, why you have powers, what’s up with this town, and I want the truth.”</p>
<p>“Um, alright.” was all Lex could say. He looked just a little uncomfortable but also shared a look of complete understandment.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about him too much,” Mabel piped in. “he’s usually never this paranoid.”</p>
<p>Suddenly the entire cave system shook again. Thump. Thump. Thump. It slowly faded away.</p>
<p>“Alright, he’s back in the water. It’s time to spring the trap.” said Lex, pounding his fist with the other. Small sparks of electricity danced around his hands. “Let’s take this monster down properly this time.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, uh, how do we get back up on the island?” asked Mabel. “I almost lost Soos like three times.”</p>
<p>“It’s not my fault this cave system’s so cool.” pouted Soos. He hesitated, but snapped the same stalactite, and now has seven photos of it.</p>
<p>. . . .</p>
<p>In a few minutes, we were back on the island. Lex ran over the plan again to the three of us, and we moved off into our positions. </p>
<p>“I am going to die again.” I said to myself, wondering what my funeral would look like. I positioned myself in the middle of the lake, with nothing but the comfort of a teetering, wooden rowboat. Lex insisted that I use this instead of just swimming.</p>
<p>“That way if the plan fails, you’ll at least have some time to prevent death.” His deadpan delivery would actually be funny if I wasn’t facing death again.</p>
<p>“If I die, I’ll kill you.” I said to him before leaving to the dinghy. </p>
<p>I gave Mabel a thumbs up from my boat, which she saw on top of the cliff, and she returned it back.</p>
<p>All we had to do was wait.</p>
<p>. . . . </p>
<p>Third Person</p>
<p>Stan tried as hard as he could to go within one hundred feet of any person on the lake, but it was no luck. It was like the whole town put him on a restraining order (most of them probably did). He couldn’t help but sigh in disappointment.</p>
<p>“What’s it take to get a friend on the lake?” he said to himself. He checked his watch. 12:37. “I hope those kids are at least having more fun than I am.”</p>
<p>Stan’s soliloquy was harshly interrupted by waves incoming from… something. His boat nearly toppled over, and he struggled to keep his balance.</p>
<p>And then he saw it.</p>
<p>A nearly fifty-foot long Loch Ness monster look-alike, swimming faster than any fish he’s ever seen swim in his life.</p>
<p>“Holy cow.” was all he could say, his eyes wide in awe and fear. “It- it’s real…”</p>
<p>He stood there, sprinkled in lakewater, watching the thing swim towards that island. Wait, no.</p>
<p>It’s not swimming towards the island. </p>
<p>It’s swimming towards that small, dinghy row boat about a mile or two away..</p>
<p>Stan revved up his boat and sped off towards the island. He turned on his walkie talkie. “Kid! Kid! Can you hear me?” he shouted into the walkie talkie.</p>
<p>All that returned was static, but only for a second. “Grunkle Stan? What’s up?” replied Mabel.</p>
<p>“Mabel! Where’s your brother?”</p>
<p>“Um… he’s looking around on the island.” lied Mabel. “Why?”</p>
<p>“It’s real. The thing’s real. Get your brother and get out of the island while you still can. It’s coming.”</p>
<p>“What? See Soos, I knew it was real.” said Mabel on the walkie talkie.</p>
<p>“It’s heading towards this rowboat in the middle of the lake, then I’d assume it’s heading for the island. That poor guy on there.” said Stan. “I’m heading over to the island to help him out. Go back to the pier.”</p>
<p>“What? Grunkle Stan, go back to the pier, we’ll help him, if we can. It’ll be on the way to the pier. Plus, you’re in higher danger if you stay in the open water.” replied Mabel.</p>
<p>He was about to tell her off, but his engine sputtered. He turned around. Low Fuel. </p>
<p>“Crap.” Stan said. “You win this round. Be at the pier. And don’t take long, or you’re grounded.” He then sped off back to the pier, isolating the two supers, Mabel and Soos with the beast.</p>
<p>. . . .</p>
<p>First Person</p>
<p>I didn’t need super-hearing to see it was coming my way. I could see the fish scurry out of the way as fast as they could. I turned around and saw its shadow coming for me at an astonishing speed. It’s lunchtime, and he’s hungry.</p>
<p>I waved my arms at Mabel. I’m sure that even if it was cloudy she’d know something big was coming from the monumental ripples the beast was creating. She only gave a thumbs up and it looked like she was laughing.</p>
<p>“He’s going to die.” I heard her whisper.</p>
<p>I hate her.</p>
<p>I started rowing my boat towards the shore as fast as I could. I was going at an extremely fast pace, considering I’m only manning a rowboat, but the beast was still gaining ground. I just need a couple hundred more feet to go…</p>
<p>I felt a little nudge from the back of the boat. The thing’s right at the stern. I look back to the island. I only need about 150 more feet.</p>
<p>I grabbed each side of the rowboat, and I lifted it up, flying and carrying it like I’m carrying a tote of wash down to the laundromat. I fly for the last hundred feet or so, barely beating the Writh to the shore. It crashed onto the shore violently enough to disrupt my flight pattern and I crashed into the ground. I barely had time to get back up when it snuck up and almost ate my face.</p>
<p>It went right for me, and luckily I had the rowboat in my arms, but not for long. The sheer force of its jaws completely obliterated the rowboat, planks and sawdust flying everywhere. Once it was done devouring the boat, it looked right at me.</p>
<p>“Uh, is there a chance you can give me a five second head start?” I stammer.</p>
<p>The beast answered with its guttural scream right into my face.</p>
<p>“I’ll take that as a no.” I said.</p>
<p>The beast once again lurched its head at me, and I barely managed to roll away from where it would have struck me on the shore. It tried again, but I rolled out of the way again. I manage to get up and start running towards the forest deeper into Ingpoo Island. </p>
<p>“Mabel, I think I got its attention! Start the trap please!” I shout while keeping my pace. The beast slapped one of its flippers in my direction, and I dodged it just in the nick of time, but the impact on the ground caused me to lose my balance slightly, and the monster gained another gigantic step on me. “Anytime now would be great, actually.”</p>
<p>“I got you, mate.” said someone in front of me, and to my right. It was Lex, hiding behind some shrubbery, and I’m leading the monster right into the trap, exactly as planned. “Now!” he said, and I followed his command.</p>
<p>I flew to the left, quickly turning myself around so that between Lex and myself was the beast itself. I flew fast enough that it would give myself and Lex time to proceed. When I landed behind a bush, I realized we had it completely flanked. Now it’s time to spring the trap. </p>
<p>Lex took a steel cable that was stocked away on Soos’s boat, and threw it in my direction. Right as I caught it, the beast tore down the vegetation, revealing its prey, me, like removing weeds from a garden where beetles have taken them as a home.</p>
<p>Last time, this would have caught me off-guard, but this time, I’m better prepared. Right as it lurched to bite me in half, I flew out of its grasp, and I continued to hold onto the steel cable, as did Lex, and wrapped the cord a few times around the Writh’s long neck. Then I rooted the cable to a tree so that I could use the tree as a pulley, and as I looked over, Lex did the same. I looked at him, and nodded.</p>
<p>“You know, this is a really bad time to ask if you have super strength.” I called over to Lex.</p>
<p>“Well, the way this thing almost killed you last time, I was worried that you didn’t have super strength.” muttered Lex. He grunted with effort, and so did I, since the lake monster was providing quite a fight against us. I felt my sneakers dig into the loose soil of the island as I tried to keep my grip.</p>
<p>“We gotta flip this thing over! We can’t hold it much longer!” I said through gritted teeth. I felt the steel cable starting to slip.</p>
<p>“I was hoping you would say that.” replied Lex, with a bit of effort. “On the count of three. One… Two…”</p>
<p>“Dammit!” I cried to myself. I lost a couple feet of slack for the cable, the steel cutting my palm and fingers, providing just enough for the Writh to use to its advantage. It swung its tail and  knocked down the tree that I was using as a pulley.</p>
<p>The tree almost impaled me with its thick branches, but I rolled out of the way in the nick of time. However, I had to let go of the steel cable, and it went out of my clutches.</p>
<p>“Grab the cable! Before the cable comes off its neck!” cried Lex, still trying to tether the beast onto his tree. Even though he was holding his own on containing the beast, the tree wasn’t. It wasn’t long until I started seeing the tree’s deepest roots. “Are you waiting for an invitation? Grab it!” </p>
<p>Lex’s shouting snapped me out of my trance of the tree’s roots. I jumped right for the cable, and was successful in grabbing the very end of it after flying a few yards and diving to grab it. I pulled myself up and grabbed onto a nearby tree branch.</p>
<p>The now improvised plan felt like it was working, that is until my tree started being uprooted as well. </p>
<p>“One!” I shouted. It was now or never.</p>
<p>“Two!” responded Lex. his tree became incredibly unstable.</p>
<p>“Three!” I screamed, then pulled with all my might. So did Lex.</p>
<p>It was astounding. Completely astounding.</p>
<p>Pulling as hard as both of us could, all it did was ultimately tilt the neck of the lake monster back so it could see both Lex and me struggling to incapacitate it. Its blood-red eyes gazed emptily, first at me, then at Lex. It was completely unfazed.</p>
<p>Suddenly, the monster lurched its neck forward, causing both of our pulley trees to be completely uprooted and sent Lex and me crashing into the base of the cliff a hundred feet ahead. Oh crap, I think Lex is out cold, as I observed him sitting silently. I barely had time to process what just happened before I looked up to see it scrambling towards both of us as fast as it could. It didn’t matter much that it looked like a waddling baby duck when it came to us, but it was still frightening nonetheless.</p>
<p>It stopped right in front of us, and just like a horror movie, the beast unhinged its jaw like a snake, revealing multiple rows of jagged teeth behind its first row of massive molars, ready to carve up flesh.</p>
<p>Then, out of nowhere, a rather large-sized rock came down, crashing down on the beast’s back. It distracted the beast, and it looked up to the summit of the cliff. I did too, and I couldn’t believe who was up there.</p>
<p>“Soos?!” was all I could manage. “Soos, run!”</p>
<p>“If you think you’re going to kill my friend and his handsome Greek counterpart, you’ve got another thing coming!” shouted Soos, as he heaved another boulder at the monster’s back. It still stood there, unfazed.</p>
<p>Then, in a whip as fast as lightning, it smashed its tail on the base of the cliff, causing a mini boulder avalanche, heading right for me and Lex. I barely had time to react before the rocks painfully fell on us and pinned us down. I was too exhausted, too spent, too much in pain to get out of it, so I couldn’t do anything but watch.</p>
<p>The shockwave the Writh produced shook Soos off-balance, as I watched, in almost slow-motion, as Soos fell over 50 feet into the jaws of the beast. After almost no effort, it swallowed my friend whole, and just like that, it headed back to the lake, leaving Lex and me for dead.</p>
<p>“Soos…” I called out weakly. My energy was sapped, and I blacked out.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Myth of the Writh: Part 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dipper, Mabel and newcomer Lex have to stop the Writh before it eats anyone else, like it did to Soos. Meanwhile, Stan's recent discovery prompts a genius plan that only the police could stop.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Dipper! Dipper! Wake up!”</p><p>“What?” I stuttered, as I drifted myself out of unconsciousness. In front of me, I saw Mabel, roughed up, trying to pull some rocks off of both myself and Lex's still body. </p><p>After a moment of collecting myself, I got myself out of the rock pile and helped Mabel get the rest off of Lex.</p><p>“What happened to you? You look like a train ran over you twice, and then backed up over you again.” she asked while picking up a rock. “Look, you’re bleeding from like five different places.”</p><p>“The Writh is what happened to me. What happened to you?” I asked her.</p><p>“That little earthquake made me fall off a smaller cliff up higher. Luckily I didn’t fall too far down…” her voice stopped off, as we uncovered the last stone and looked at Lex’s still body.</p><p>“Is he…” Mabel started, fear trembling in her voice.</p><p>I concentrated as much as I could, as I put my fingers against his throat, searching for a pulse.</p><p>“He’s alive.” I said. “His pulse is pretty weak though.” I took my finger off of him and looked out to the lake, where the monster disappeared in the murky waters.</p><p>“It took him.” I said in defeat. “It killed Soos.”</p><p>“Come on, Dip, you don’t know that…” Mabel started.</p><p>“I saw it happen, Mabel. It swallowed him whole. It ate him. Soos is dead.” I said grimly, knowing full well that I’m accepting defeat. “I couldn’t save him, Mabel. I let Soos die.”</p><p>“Dipper, you tried your best. You can’t save everyone.” said Mabel. “What matters now is us preventing that monster from killing anyone else.”</p><p>“What does it matter?” I snapped. “What does it matter if I can’t even protect those close to me? Soos died. Lex could be dying right now. YOU almost died. I don’t deserve this power.”</p><p>“Well, regardless if you deserve the power or not, you have it, and you’re the only one who can stop that thing from killing more people. This is the hard part of being a hero. It’s moving on from those you couldn’t save.” replied Mabel calmly, tears streaming down her cheek. “Did you see what Soos was doing before? He put himself in the line of danger, he looked in the face of death so that you and Lex might live. That’s what being a hero is about. It’s okay to mourn. It’s okay to grieve. But now we need to focus and get that killer before anyone else dies.”</p><p>I sit back down, right next to Lex, who’s still unconscious. “What if I’m not strong enough? Not even Lex and I could take it down, not even tip it over.”</p><p>Mabel noticed something wrong with Lex and went over to his left side. She grabbed his shoulder, and with a grunt and a jerk, I heard her put Lex’s arm back in its socket. “Strength doesn’t matter, Dip. Remember what Eisenhower said? ‘What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog.' You've shown it back when you stood up for me when I was being harassed by bullies in middle school, and frankly, this isn’t any different.”</p><p>“But where is it? How can I find it?”</p><p>“Why are you asking me? You’re the one with the speed, flight, and super-hearing.” pointed out Mabel. As she said this, we both noticed Lex starting to stir.</p><p>“What the hell happened?” asked Lex, rubbing his head with his right hand. After showing lots of discomfort in his face, he took matters into his own hands and he readjusted the other dislocated joint, his kneecap. He winced in pain, but it was followed immediately by relief.</p><p>“It got away.” I said, full of guilt. “It ate Soos and left back into the lake. What are we going to do?”</p><p>Mabel helped Lex up, as he brushed the rocky dust off his clothing and body. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” he stated weakly. “There’s one last place it could possibly be. The Cave.”</p><p> </p><p>“The Cave?” asked Mabel. “Weren’t we just at a cave?”</p><p>“Yes. There’s another cave system, in the middle of the island. Extremely hard to get to by foot due to natural obstacles. I’m 95% sure the beast lives there. We can try an ambush there. It’s clearly stronger than both of us, so we need the element of surprise, and we need to strike quickly, if we want to save your friend.”</p><p>“What are you talking about? He’s dead.” I asked, a little hurt that he could be offering false hope.</p><p>“Wait, no, I think he’s onto something.” said Mabel. She started climbing up the cliff again, and after a bit she grabbed my journal hidden inside a bush. “While we were waiting, I’ve done some research, turns out I found some valuable information.” She handed it over to me, the page open to a familiar drawing.</p><p>The Writh<br/>Previously thought of as a mere myth like the Loch Ness, I saw it myself. They are real. These beasts want nothing more than eating things whole. This ferocious predator of Lake Falls stalks around, almost being completely undetected, with a few exceptions in the last hundred years. I myself had actually spotted one and successfully killed it, so that I could research its biology. </p><p>This beast has a spectacular sense of smell, stronger than that of a bloodhound. Once it’s got your scent, it won’t stop till it hunts you down.</p><p>From this I’ve noticed its unique digestion system after gutting it. It tends to swallow its prey whole, and slowly digests its food, making it possible to survive prolonged periods without eating. It can take anywhere from 5 to 7 days for them to fully digest its food, and probably starts digestion after 2-3 hours. Though its scales are incredibly durable, comparable to Kevlar, it does have a weakness to extreme heat, even prolonged exposure to the sun. Thankfully, I hopefully killed the last one around, so whoever finds this doesn’t have to worry about this monster, easily one of the most dangerous in Gravity Falls.</p><p>Lex pointed something out. “Prolonged exposure to the sun, and weakness to extreme heat.” he pondered. “I think both of us can do that.” As he said that, I recalled that I had heat vision.</p><p>“We have a chance.” I said. “We have to act quickly, but we have a chance.”</p><p>“I’ve studied the creature’s habits, and judging by where the sun’s in the sky, it will probably come back to the cave in about half an hour.” said Lex.</p><p>“But the size of the island’s massive!” said Mabel. “How are we going to get there in time if it’s on the other side?”</p><p>“Well, the answer is quite obvious,” started Lex. “we take to the skies and get there.” And with that, he started levitating himself.</p><p>“Since when could you fly?” I asked, a little jealous that my power of flight isn’t exclusively mine.</p><p>“The whole time, mate. I just enjoy walking too.” responded Lex.</p><p>I nodded my head in agreement, and after a few seconds to collect ourselves, Mabel, Lex and I headed for the Writh’s hideout.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>“Get out of the lake! There’s a monster in the lake!” shouted Stan as he docked his dinghy. “Everyone, out of the water!” He shouted again, using a megaphone, which he stole from the police. Now that he saw it with his own eyes, he had a few ideas pop into his head. The lake needs to be cleared in order for his plans to be executed.</p><p>The townsfolk nearby didn’t respond to the old man’s pleas. Instead they returned to their business.</p><p>“I saw it myself!” continued Stan, on the stolen megaphone. “It was fifty feet long, and was heading right at Ingpoo Island!”</p><p>Once again, our hero Stanford Pines was ignored. That is, he was ignored by most people.</p><p>“There he is, officer! That’s the guy that made me uncomfortable in conversation!” shouted a man, the same man who was harassed by Stan’s terrible jokes,  standing right next to the deputy to the sheriff, pointing aggressively at Stan. </p><p>“You monster!” cried the deputy. After a second of closer examination, the deputy then turned to the sheriff, also pointing at Stan. “Sheriff, that’s the guy who stole my megaphone!”</p><p>“How do you sleep at night?!” questioned the sheriff in disbelief. He turned to his deputy. “Let’s get him!”</p><p>“You have got to be kidding me, right? There’s a legitimate lake monster out there! You have to evacuate the lake before someone gets hurt!” said Stan. His plan had to work. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.</p><p>“The only monster out here in the lake is you!” retorted the sheriff. Upon closer examination, the sheriff’s name is revealed in the tag. BLUBS. “Theft of police property is one thing, but making someone uncomfortable? That’s almost a felony!”</p><p>“Officers, we have a code 277, repeat, code 277.” stated the deputy in his radio. His nametag revealed his last name as well. DURLAND. “All units, please report, I repeat, all units please report.”</p><p>For most people, a threat like this from the police would cause them to have a nervous breakdown. But our hero Stan here is not like most people.</p><p>In a matter of seconds, Stan stole a vacant police boat and sped off.</p><p>“We got a runner!” shouted Durland, the deputy.</p><p>“Quick, to the other police boat, before he makes another person uncomfortable!” ordered Blubs, the sheriff. And like that, the two policemen chased the ex(?)-conman, started up the police boat cruiser, and sped off after him.</p><p>. . . . </p><p>When Lex mentioned a cave in the center of the island, I wasn’t thinking that it would almost be the size of a freaking ravine.</p><p> Like holy crap, this place is massive. It’s basically a gigantic crater that could swallow an entire skyscraper, and trees protruded out of said crater hundreds of feet in the air, meeting with the tree line outside of it. From the top I couldn’t even see the bottom, but my hearing could pick up a very threatening ambience. I’m sure the author of the journal hadn’t even touched this place in his studies, so my guess is that there are hundreds of other mysteries located down there.</p><p>Lex noticed my look of awe, and confirmed some of what I was thinking. “Yeah, this place hasn’t even been discovered yet. At all, except for me. As far as I know, I’m the first person to find it. I’ve never been down to the bottom, but reason suspects that an undetectable place would be where a beast such as the Writh would inhabit.”</p><p>I looked back down into the abyss of this gigantic ravine, and I listened closely. Hopefully there are some clues.</p><p>Aha! I hear running water, so at least it’s somewhere in that cave. “You’re probably right. I hear some form of running water down there, so it’s probably a safe bet.”</p><p>Lex walked over to a bush right by the crater. He pulled out an aged, old-looking chest, that looks like it’s been there for a few years.</p><p>“I never thought I’d be able to break this stuff out, but now that you two are here, and the situation we’re in, we don’t have much of a choice.” Lex said, fishing through the chest. He finally pulled out three helmets, similar to the ones that miners wear in caves, with lights attached on it. Then he pulled out some climbing gear.</p><p>“No way.” said Mabel upon first sight of the climbing gear. “There is no way I’m jumping in there. I choose life, thank you.”</p><p>“Don’t be such a wuss.” I replied to Mabel, strapping on a harness after I put on the helmet. “Think of it as a cool adventure from like Tomb Raider.”</p><p>“First off, Lara Croft could beat both of you up to a bloody pulp with both her arms tied behind her back. Second of all, she never faced a giant Loch Ness monster like this one.” stated Mabel matter-of-factly, counting the reasons with her fingers.</p><p>“Ok, now just think of it as Dead Space then.” muttered Lex, adjusting his harness as well, while trying to decide which color nylon rope he was going to use, between black and gold.</p><p>“That’s not really helping your case either.” complained Mabel.</p><p>“Okay, if you don’t want to go down into the cave, I’m sure you’ll be better off up here, where neither of us will be able to help you when it comes home, and you have nowhere to run…” I trailed, hinting that this might be better off for her regardless of what she thinks.</p><p>“Now I’m starting to have second thoughts…” admitted Mabel, reaching for the third helmet.</p><p>After a few moments, we were all strapped up.</p><p>“Okay, do any of you know how to rock-climb at all?” asked Lex. Both Mabel and I shook our heads. “Alright, cool. Me neither.” </p><p>We took about fifteen minutes to figure out how to hook up the nylon rope to our harnesses, only after arguing another five minutes about who gets which color rope. Then, after I lodged the spikes into the top of the crater’s edge for all three of us, we began our descent into the cave. After a few minutes of carefully climbing down the cave, it became too dark, so we turned on the headlights on our helmets.</p><p>As we continued our descent, we didn’t say much, knowing that this is uncharted territory: the Writh’s territory. Plus, the wall of the cave became a bit cooler and, in a way, damper, making it more difficult to navigate downwards safely.</p><p>Suddenly, Mabel’s light went out on her helmet, and it looked as if she disappeared from existence.</p><p>“Dipper, I can’t see.” she said, her voice trembling in fear. “I’m losing my grip, too.” I could also hear her heart rate accelerating quickly. With what sounded like a minor slip and a grunt of pain from her, she raised her voice.</p><p>“I can’t even see where to climb now.” she said again.</p><p>“Hold on, Mabel. Stay right where you are.” said Lex in a surprisingly calm, charming voice. He climbed over carefully to Mabel. </p><p> </p><p>He took off Mabel’s helmet. I saw another little zap of lightning from Lex’s fingertips, and just like that, her helmet’s light turned back on. “There you go. Good as new.” he added, while strapping it on her head.</p><p>“Thanks, Lex, you’re a lifesaver.” said Mabel, in a dangerously flirtatious voice. </p><p>She better not.</p><p>My thoughts were stopped by the ever so slight thumping I could hear from around half a mile away, counting the height of the cavern wall we just climbed down.</p><p>“Uh, guys, it’s coming.” I said quietly. </p><p>We hurried up climbing down to the bottom and we unattached ourselves from the climbing gear. When we landed, we created large splashes, and we were knee-deep in the cave’s water. It was cold, and sent chills down my spine.</p><p>Just on cue, we heard the monstrous roar echo through the entire cave system.</p><p>We all decided to keep our headlights on our heads since the tunnels would be pretty much pitch black, even though it could reveal us to the creature. What good is exploring an unexplored place without any risk?</p><p>“Okay Lex, where to now?” I asked the tall, Greek man.</p><p>He simply shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea. This is my first time down here as well.”</p><p>Great. We might as well be walking into a trap.</p><p>“Here, if it’s possible, see if you can read any abnormalities in the electrical field down here. That might lead us somewhere that’s not here.” I suggest.</p><p>Lex nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.” He put his hand up on the cave wall and started concentrating. There was another trembling in the cave, this time much closer.</p><p>“Uh, Lex? Any chance you can speed up your little procedure?” asked Mabel.</p><p> I shared the same thought. “Or can we continue this at a place where we’re less vulnerable? I see at least twelve different pathways into this place.”</p><p>Lex hushed us with a finger. “Quiet, I’m concentrating. Plus, I’m almost done.”</p><p>We waited there for about thirty more seconds, which felt like an hour with all the tremors that occurred between them.</p><p>Suddenly Lex’s eyes flickered with electricity, he let out a cry of pain and collapsed to the watery ground. Mabel and I helped him up.</p><p>“Lex? What’s wrong?” asked Mabel as we hauled him up.</p><p>Lex caught a few breaths before answering. “So many electrical anomalies down here… it overwhelmed me. It’s like a buggin’ nuclear power plant was built under this entire island.” </p><p>“What? What does that mean?” I asked, perplexed.</p><p>“That’s the thing, Dipper. I don’t know what’s going on down here. All I know is that there are higher concentrations of electrical anomalies in certain places, but I have no idea what those entail. For all I know they could all be Wriths.”</p><p>Lex’s eyes surged again, glowing electric blue. “Nng!” He almost fell over again, but we were still holding onto him.</p><p>“What now?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“It’s too late. The biggest anomaly is too close” said Lex, out of breath.</p><p>“Where’s the anomaly, Lex?” I asked out of concern, facing Lex.</p><p>Lex pointed behind me towards the main chasm. “There.” He immediately fainted, probably out of exhaustion.</p><p>Mabel and I turned around at the same time and saw ourselves face to face with the monstrous anomaly.</p><p>. . . .</p><p>Stan bumbled around, trying to dial the right phone number. He had to admit it, driving a boat while being pursued by cops while trying to dial a number on his new phone gizmo was extremely dangerous. Those phone commercials were up to something.</p><p>After a little bit of struggling, he finally dialed the right number and put the phone to his ear.</p><p>After a few rings, it felt like somebody picked up.</p><p>“Hello, you have reached Soos Ramirez.”</p><p>“Soos! I need your help! I’m being chased --”</p><p>“I can’t get to the phone right now, either because I’m playing video games or I’m dead. Regardless, leave a message after the beep. Thanks, dude!”</p><p>BEEP!</p><p>Stan hung up. “What good is a cell phone if you don’t pick up?” He tried dialing another number.</p><p>“Hello? Who is this?”</p><p>“Wendy! I need your help!”</p><p>“Mr. Pines? How did you get my number?”</p><p>“That doesn’t matter! I need you to come over to Falls Lake ASAP, bring a boat, and a fully loaded shotgun!”</p><p>“Do you think I can own those things with my wage and gun laws?” Wendy remarked.</p><p>“That’s right. You follow the laws.”</p><p>“Most of the time, Mr. Pines.” corrected Wendy.</p><p>“Fine then. Go to the Shack and grab my shotgun then and head toward the lake please.”</p><p>“I don’t know if I can do it, Mr. Pines. Today’s the day off.”</p><p>“I’ll give you an hour overtime.”</p><p>“Schedule looks pretty busy…”</p><p>Stan groaned. “Fine. Two hours of overtime.”</p><p>“That’s more like it.”</p><p>“You’re lucky I’m also a criminal, otherwise I’d charge you for robbery.”</p><p>“Pleasure doing business, Mr. Pines. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” said Wendy before hanging up.</p><p>“Kids these days. Always motivated by money, not good will. What has society come to?” said Stan to no one in particular. He continued to try and lose the police, but to no avail. They were still hot on his trail.</p><p>. . . . </p><p>Mabel and I backed up to the cave wall. The Writh had found us alright. If I recall, they have an excellent sense of smell, comparable to that of a great white shark.</p><p>“Get behind me, Mabel.” I said, pushing her behind me.</p><p>“Dipper. Remember its weakness.” said Mabel.</p><p>I nodded. “I’ll keep him distracted. You try and wake Lex up.”</p><p>“Got it. Dipper, behind you!” she cried.</p><p>I turned around and caught the beast’s tail, but the momentum sent me flying into the cave wall, creating a hole the size of myself. My headlight immediately broke into pieces.</p><p>“Dipper!” cried Mabel.</p><p>“I’m fine!” I said after getting up and flying around to distract the beast. I shot a few heat-vision blasts to stave it. “Just try and find a way to wake him up. The sooner, the better.”</p><p>The blasts seemed to have only aggravated the Writh, making it swing its tail more violently and more unpredictably.</p><p>I fired the strongest blast that I could at the beast, trying to at least deal some type of damage. When I finished my attack, I noticed that I only caused a minute amount of damage. It’s like I only gave the thing a sunburn.</p><p>“Any luck?” I called while avoiding a tail-whip attack.</p><p>Mabel stopped shaking Lex and started slapping him. “Nothing so far.” she replied.</p><p>“I can barely make a dent with my own strength. I need his help as soon as possible.”</p><p>“But he’s not responding to anything!” called Mabel.</p><p>The beast bit my arm and started thrashing me around. First it threw me against the cave wall and on the ground again, causing big splashes. “Oof! Don’t you have a taser or something?” I said, freeing my arm out of the Writh’s grip and started punching its snout while trying to keep its jaw shut with my free arm.</p><p>I heard Mabel fish around the various pockets that she has in her sweater.</p><p>“All I have are three lolipops, a laser dot pointer, and some coins.”</p><p>“What kind of coins?” I asked before being slammed to the ground again by the monster’s tail. I blasted heat vision to temporarily stun its tail before taking flight again and trying to find some other form of weak spot.</p><p>“Just a couple of pennies.” said Mabel. “Why?”</p><p>“Aren’t pennies good conductors of electricity?” I asked, trying to make a dent in the Writh’s hide.</p><p>Mabel brightened up. “You’re a genius!”</p><p>“I know.” I said. “Put the pennies on him. I’ll try to heat them up and see if they can wake him up. And please hurry. I can’t tango with this guy for much longer.”</p><p>The beast grabbed me with its tail and bashed me against the cave wall a few times, causing some large rocks to start raining from the top of the ravine.</p><p>“Nng! Also, hurry up before we’re buried in here too, if you don’t mind.”</p><p>“I’m working on it. Just a little longer…” called Mabel. “Ok it’s ready! Bring the heat!”</p><p>I tried firing my heat vision at the pennies on Lex’s chest, but the Writh was one step ahead of me. Before I could fire my heat vision, it grabbed and wrapped around my eyes with its tail and threw me through the knee-deep water and into the ground, making a crater.</p><p>“Dipper!” I heard Mabel cry.</p><p>The monster pinned me into the ground, attempting to drown me just like last time. I struggled to get out of its grip. </p><p>I concentrated and grabbed a sharpish rock. I fired a strong blast of heat vision and bashed the rock, both attacks on the Writh’s tail. </p><p>It worked! It loosened its tight grip on me, and was temporarily stunned, allowing me to break free. I surfaced, and limped towards Mabel.</p><p>“Look, you’re roughed up. You work on him, I’ll distract the monster.” said Mabel, showing me her laser pointer.</p><p>“Mabel, I don’t think --” </p><p>Mabel suddenly bellowed out a war cry and charged toward the beast. “AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHH!!”</p><p>“Mabel, are you serious! You’ll get yourself killed!” I cry.</p><p>“I know what I’m doing, Dip! Trust me!” she called.</p><p>I sighed. I have to wake Lex up before she finds a way to kill herself.</p><p>I turned towards Lex and noticed the thin stream of blood running out of his nose and down on his chin. I wiped it with his shirt, and I got to work.</p><p>I arranged the three pennies over his heart, his left wrist and his neck, specifically places where the pulse is most prominent.</p><p>I sure hope I know what I’m doing.</p><p>One by one, I started heating up the pennies with my heat vision, starting with the neck, down to the wrist and finishing at the heart. I placed his right wrist over the penny on the heart, and I pressed it.</p><p>If it works correctly, the electricity running in his blood should react with the pennies and might kickstart his brain and wake him up. If not, I’m out of ideas.</p><p>I pressed a little bit harder, in hopes of waking him up finally.</p><p>I looked over to Mabel to see how she’s doing.</p><p>It amazed me how elusive and fast she was, dodging the tail strikes with ease and finesse, while periodically blinding the Writh with the laser pointer.</p><p>All these superpowers that I have and she still beats me at fighting. Go figure.</p><p>Somehow Mabel sent the Writh back into the depths of the cave after hitting it in the head with a few of those fallen rocks, and she came to rejoin me.</p><p>“How.” was all I could say.</p><p>“Trade secret, bro.” was her short reply.</p><p>I turned back around once I noticed Lex’s body start to move again.</p><p>I held his body up to a sitting position as he started stirring. Then he looked at me, then at Mabel, then back at me.</p><p>“Did somebody kiss me?” he asked, probably wondering why we were staring at him so intently.</p><p>“No, but Mabel somehow managed to send it running back to its home, wherever that is.” I said, helping him up. “How are you feeling?”</p><p>“Still a little weak, but I should be fine.” he turned to Mabel. “Do you know where it went?”</p><p>Mabel pointed toward one of the tunnels. “I think it went there.” she paused for a second, and pointed to a few others. “Or was it over there? No wait, was it there?”</p><p>“You don’t know where it went?” I asked.</p><p>“I’m not the one with super hearing and supersight.” scoffed Mabel. “Plus, I was messing with both of you. It went that way.” she said, pointing to the first tunnel definitively.</p><p>“Well, what are we waiting for?” said Lex to both of us. He started limping toward the tunnel. “We’ve got a Writh to catch!”</p><p>We trudged down into the darkness, led by Mabel since she’s the only one who didn’t manage to break her headlight in the fight.</p><p>. . . . </p><p>Stan was surprised that it took so long to shake the cops off his tail, but not quite as surprised as actually seeing Wendy there waiting for him at the hidden dock. He docked the boat and went out to meet her.</p><p>“What have you gotten yourself into this time?” asked Wendy, raising an eyebrow. She handed Stan the loaded shotgun.</p><p>“Oh you know, the usual. I stole police property, cussed out the sheriff, and made someone uncomfortable.” replied Stan, double-checking and making sure it was loaded. </p><p>“So what exactly are you going to do with that?” wondered Wendy. “I hope you don’t have homicidal tendencies right now.”</p><p>“If I did, I would have shot you dead the second I grabbed it.” said Stan curtly. “Besides, I doubt this would do any damage with what I’m targeting.”</p><p>“And what is that you’re targeting?”</p><p>“A Writh, Wendy. A Writh.”</p><p>“Wait, it’s real? It’s not just a myth?” gasped Wendy.</p><p>“It’s real alright. That’s why I have to do this.” Stan said.</p><p>“You’re going to kill it?”</p><p>“Kill it? No! Why would I do that? I’m going to try and capture it of course! Imagine how many tourists are going to come when it becomes my latest attraction! I wouldn’t feel so bad overcharging them once I have a real attraction!”</p><p>Wendy rolled her eyes. “Mr. Pines, there’s literally no way you can catch a Writh if experts couldn’t do it for years.”</p><p>“I thought so too, until I hijacked this police boat. Now it has a steel cable, and should easily be able to subdue the beast! It’s foolproof!” shouted Stan triumphantly. “Which reminds me, I need a partner to help me, and that’s you.”</p><p>“Whoa whoa whoa, this is way above my paygrade.” started Wendy, shaking her arms in denial. “This is not what I signed up for.”</p><p>“Two and a half hours of overtime.” muttered Stan.</p><p>“Deal.” asserted Wendy, shaking the old man’s hand. They both jumped back on the police boat. “Weren’t Dipper and Mabel supposed to be with you?”</p><p>“They’re chasing the Writh too. If we’re lucky, they’ll lead us right to it!” cackled Stan, rubbing his hands maniacally.</p><p>“Aren’t you concerned about their safety?” </p><p>“What’s up with you and questions today?” snapped Stan. “Anyway, relax, they have Soos with them. Soos literally worships me, and he knows I’d kill him if the kids get hurt.”</p><p>Wendy shrugged her shoulders. “If you say so, man.”</p><p>“Let’s roll. We’ve got an attraction to catch.” said Stan.</p><p>“I get paid too little for this.” muttered Wendy as they sped off to the center of the lake.</p><p>. . . . </p><p>“Do you see anything?” asked Lex.</p><p>“This headlight sucks. I can’t even see anything, not to mention it’s frizzing my hair!” complained Mabel. “Plus, all I see are cave walls.”</p><p>“That’s not right… I can feel those anomalies growing nearer. There should be something dead ahead.” said Lex.</p><p>I let my eyes glow red with the heat vision, providing a little bit of a better lighting scenario. I tried using my x-ray vision to see if there’s any clue to where we’re heading.</p><p>“That’s odd.” I remark.</p><p>“What’s that?” said Lex and Mabel.</p><p>“I can’t see through the cave walls. I have no idea where the other tunnels are. This never happened before.”</p><p>Lex stopped. “You can see through walls too? The hell… what can’t you do?”</p><p>“Beat up a Writh.” interjected Mable.</p><p>She had a point.</p><p>“Wait. Do you see that?” I interrupted Mable’s gloating session.</p><p>“See what? All I see is blackness and cave walls.” said Mabel.</p><p>“No, I see it too.” said Lex, pointing far down the tunnel. “It’s light.”</p><p>“And light usually means a way out of here.” I said.</p><p>“Unless it’s the Writh’s main den.” pointed out Mabel with a sliver of concern.</p><p>We all stopped in our tracks. I could tell we were all hesitant to continue.</p><p>“Well…” I started. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.” I started trudging towards the light in the tunnel, splashing through the flowing water.</p><p>Lex caught up to me. “Something’s troubling you, and I don’t need to read your neuroelectric system to see that.”</p><p>“Something’s not right.” I said. I pointed down to the water at our feet. “The water is flowing downward, which means we’re descending.”</p><p>“Right. Where are you going with this?”</p><p>“We’re already a couple of hundred feet underground. There's a bright light down there. There’s no way that’s sunlight… so what is it?” I pondered.</p><p>“Why did you have to say that?” whined Mabel.</p><p>Suddenly, as we walked down towards the light, it darkened again. The light completely disappeared.</p><p>“Where’d it go?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“I don’t know. Lex?” I said.</p><p>“Already on it.” responded Lex. He snapped his finger and a little bolt of electricity flied down the tunnel towards where the light disappeared. That little spark surprisingly illuminated the entire tunnel. Only a couple hundred feet away, the little zap of electricity stopped and disappeared as well.</p><p>Lex furrowed his brow and sent another bolt, this time much bigger, about the size of a football, making it brighter. This time, the bolt stopped again, but plenty of illumination indicated what stopped that bolt of electricity.</p><p>A split second of seeing the image of the Writh going full speed at us was enough for us to figure out what stopped the zaps.</p><p>“Run for it!” shouted Lex at the top of his lungs. The beast responded with its blood-curdling cry as it continued its hot pursuit of us.</p><p>“Screw that! Fly for it!” I screamed as I started flying, picking Mabel up by her armpits.</p><p>“I have an idea, but we have to go back to the main hub first!” said Mabel to both of us. “Lex, if Dipper and I are on the ground, you can try and charge the water and electrocute the Writh. Maybe that’ll do something.”</p><p>“That just might work.” said Lex while shooting a zap of electricity to stun the Writh, who was inching closer and closer. In a few seconds we got back to the bottom of the massive ravine.</p><p>“I’ll distract it, you focus on cooking it!” I shouted to Lex while putting Mabel in one of those ledges/holes that I created indirectly by me with the last battle between the Writh. “Mabel, stay there.”</p><p>Mabel pulled out the laser pointer again. “I’ll try and blind it too. It worked last time.”</p><p>“Good idea.” I responded.</p><p>“Enough chatter up there.” said Lex. “Ugly’s here.”</p><p>Mabel and I turned to see the Writh slither out of the tunnel like a massive snake, its dagger-like teeth visible, ready to strike.</p><p>I hovered in front of the beast, making sure it focused on me. The two of us stared each other down, as if we silently dared each other to make the first move.</p><p>“Now Mabel!” I called. Right on cue, Mabel fired the laser pointer right into the eyes of the Writh, making it unleash a shrill, bloodcurdling scream.</p><p>I flew down and started giving the beast everything I had with each punch to the snout. This time, as I noticed with each hit, I was actually starting to weaken the beast. That is, until the Writh started changing its tactics. It bashed me twenty feet away with its sturdy head, knocking me to the cave ground where Lex patiently waits to attack.</p><p>Since there were so many holes in the cave wall from my previous battle with it, it started using it to its advantage. It was adapting. Like a skilled hunter, it started climbing the cave wall with the help of its grooves,heading right to Mabel.</p><p>“Mabel! Look out!” I shouted as I started flying back up to join the battle.</p><p>The Writh’s head reached to the hole where Mabel was, and was ready to strike. Luckily, I landed on its neck and put it in a choke-hold so that it couldn’t possibly reach Mabel. She flashed the laser pointer at its eyes again, her back against the end of the hole.</p><p>“Lex! Get ready! I’m bringing the party to you!” I cried with effort.</p><p>The Writh continued to struggle.</p><p>“I won’t let you hurt my sister!” I screamed at the beast, prying its hold off the cave wall. With all the intensity that I could, I fired my heat vision right in the back of its head and punched it down towards the ground. “Lex!”</p><p>“With pleasure!” said Lex as lightning trickled across his body like spiders, surging into his eyes and hands. The second the Writh landed in the water he unleashed his electrical bomb on the beast, resulting in a high-voltage explosion.</p><p>I fled into Mabel’s cave wall hole just in time to avoid the surge. A wave of dust flew into our faces, so we covered our faces with our arms. We both waited there for a few seconds.</p><p>“Did… did it work?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“I sure hope so.” I said as I headed to the ledge. “Lex?” I called down to the bottom.</p><p>All that I saw there was the Writh’s limp body. </p><p>“It’s down.” I said to Mabel. I flew down to the bottom, bringing her down with me.</p><p>“I’ll check the thing. See if you can find Lex.” said Mabel as she climbed on the Writh’s body.</p><p>I started scanning the ground for any trace of Lex. It looks like the Writh absorbed almost all of the electricity. That would be more than enough electricity to kill a normal creature. It looks like to me that we finally killed it.</p><p>I noticed a small tuft of hair poking through the surface of the water. I sprinted towards it and pulled it up. It was Lex alright, but he didn’t look so hot. I carried Lex over my shoulder and rested him on the Writh’s body next to Mabel.</p><p>“I don’t think Lex is breathing. You know CPR right?” I asked.</p><p>Mabel took one look at Lex and smiled. “I am also a master of mouth-to-mouth.” she said with a toothy grin.</p><p>“That’s just creepy.” I said.</p><p>Mabel started beating Lex’s chest. She put her ear to his chest and checked his heartbeat.</p><p>“He’s not responding, I’m going to have to do mouth-to-mouth.” said Mabel seriously. “Step back.”</p><p>I did as I was told and she started working on Lex.</p><p>After about a minute, it looked like Mabel had just about given up. </p><p>Suddenly, Lex started coughing up the cave water and sat up. He started coughing a little more, and a thin trail of blood dribbled down the corner of the mouth. He got up by himself and bent over, still trying to catch his breath.</p><p>“Remind me to never do that ever again, please.” said Lex, finally standing up straight.</p><p>“Happy to see you too buddy.” I said cheerfully.</p><p>“Dipper, something’s up with the Writh. Take a look.” she said, pointing to the back of the Writh’s skull.</p><p> I headed over to the back of the creature’s head. Something was off. Way off. “Is this what I think it is?”</p><p>“Looks like a circuit board, right?” said Mabel.</p><p>“Exactly.” I said.</p><p>“Circuit board?” asked Lex. “Let me have a look.” He walked over to the back of its head.</p><p>He inspected it thoroughly. “Wow.” was all he could say.</p><p>“What’s so interesting?” said Mabel, sitting on the beast’s midsection.</p><p>“This has got to be the most advanced circuit board I think I have ever seen.” admired Lex. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”</p><p>“Hold on, I think there’s something else here too.” said Mabel, gesturing for both of us to come over and investigate. She pointed to a very small, but noticeable groove along the top of the Writh’s back. “What’s this?”</p><p>I immediately recognized what it is. “Mabel, get off of it. I think you found a way in.”</p><p>“A way in?” said Mabel.</p><p>I started punching just outside the groove, and kept going until I could make a dent big enough to reach my hand under the groove. In a sweeping motion, I swiped my hand up. The rectangular-shaped sheet of metal flew off, crashed against the wall and splashed on the ground.</p><p>“Just as I thought,” said Lex. “A trapdoor.”</p><p>All of us jumped in the Writh’s new chamber, and we were flooded with sounds of machinery. Gears turning and pistons pumping were among the prominent noises.</p><p>I started heading towards what appeared to be the cockpit of the Writh. “If we’re lucky, maybe there’s someone piloting this mechanical beast.” I said.</p><p>Sure enough, we found someone furiously moving levers and flipping switches to try and reboot the Writh. It’s obvious he didn’t know we were in here yet.</p><p>“Ahem.” said Lex, clearing his throat to get the man’s attention.</p><p>The man turned around. “What?” he said. “Oh, tarnish butter.”</p><p>Mabel and I couldn’t believe it.</p><p>“Old Man McGucket?” Mabel said. “It was you?”</p><p>“I...uh…” started McGucket, trying to find an answer.</p><p>“Why would you do this?” I asked. “Why would you go through all this trouble?”</p><p>“I.. I… I don’t remember why…” said the old man.</p><p>“Lex, did you fry his brain?” questioned Mabel.</p><p>“No, McGucket has a long history of amnesia.” said Lex.</p><p> I kept interrogating the old man. “Did you build this?”</p><p>“I… I think I did.” said McGucket. “I’m sorry y’all, I don’t recall.”</p><p>“Are you buying this?” I said to Lex and Mabel.</p><p>“Take it easy on him, Dip.” said Mabel.</p><p>“Take it easy on him? He piloted a robot that ate Soos!” I realized that Soos might not be in mortal danger after all, since this isn’t a real Writh we’re inside of. “Where’s Soos?” I said in a semi-aggressive tone.</p><p>“You mean the big guy?” said McGucket. He led us over to the stomach portion of the Writh robot. He opened a compartment with the label Stomach on it. Sure enough, there laid Soos, for whatever reason without a shirt on, out like a light.</p><p>“He’s alive. Thank God.” said Mabel after feeling for Soos’s pulse.</p><p>She nudged Soos awake. Soos blinked a few times.</p><p>“Soos, can you hear me?” I said to Soos, waving my hand in front of his face.</p><p>“Dude, why do I get the feeling this won’t be the last time I’ll be eaten alive?” asked Soos as he stood up. “I guess the Writh isn’t real, huh?”</p><p>“I guess not.” I replied, a little sad. Maybe there are some false reports in the journal.</p><p>All five of us climbed out of the Writh.</p><p>“So what do we do now?” asked Mabel.</p><p>“I guess we go back up.” I said. “We’re still supposed to meet Grunkle Stan, right?”</p><p>“Oh crap, you’re right!” gasped Mabel. She checked the time on her hidden watch. “We should’ve been back hours ago.”</p><p>We agreed to help Old Man McGucket and Soos out of the deep ravine. I had to climb all the way back up with both the climbing gear and McGucket on my back. I guess I lucked out, since Lex had to climb back up with Soos on his back.</p><p>With a little bit of traversing, we were back to the other side of Ingpoo Island, where Soos had docked his boat.</p><p>Soos drove us all back to the main dock, where we all collapsed out of exhaustion. McGucket walked away as if nothing had happened at all. I made a mental note to keep watch on him. I am under the impression that McGucket is not what he seems. However, I let him go free.</p><p>“Where’s Grunkle Stan?” wondered Mabel. I thought the same thing.</p><p>Our question was suddenly answered.</p><p>“It wasn’t me! I swear!” said Stan as he was trying to get shoved into the police car. Both Mabel and my eyes opened wide. We immediately sprinted towards the police car.</p><p>“Officer, stop!” said Mabel. “That’s our Grunkle! What’s going on?”</p><p>“Miss, your ‘Grunkle’ stole a police boat, a police megaphone, and made someone uncomfortable.” replied Sheriff Blubs.</p><p>“You come along too, miss.” said Deputy Durland, dragging along Wendy into the other side of the police car.</p><p>“Wendy?” I said, confused. “Officer, there must be a mistake.”</p><p>“I eyewitnessed the whole thing, son.” replied Durland. “She was helping him.” </p><p>“Wait!” I shouted so loud that both police officers stopped. “It’s our fault.”</p><p>“Our fault?” Mabel responded, taken aback. I gave Mabel The Glare as I elaborated on the story.</p><p>“What I meant to say is that we were the reason they stole the boat. They thought we were missing and they went to try and rescue us. That’s why they borrowed the boat and the megaphone, so that we could hear them if we were lost. They were only looking for us, officers. Please. They didn’t mean any harm.”</p><p>“That doesn’t explain him possessing firearms.” said Blubs, furrowing his brow.</p><p>“I brought it as a defense mechanism, in case there were any wild animals that might be dangerous.” said Grunkle Stan, riding on the coattails of my story. “I’m just trying to look out for these kids. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to them.” </p><p>Blubs and Durland shed a few collective tears. “Why didn’t you just say so?” said Blubs as each policeman took off the handcuffs of Grunkle Stan and Wendy. They let them walk over to us.</p><p>“Kids!” said Grunkle Stan as he embraced both Mabel and me. He squeezed Mabel and me tightly. “Thanks for the cover-up.” he whispered quietly in my ear.</p><p>“Anytime.” I replied.</p><p>Wendy then rolled up to me. “Thanks man, you really saved me a lot of explaining to my dad.” Suddenly she hugged me, and I could feel myself turn a bright shade of red.</p><p>“Uh… you too.” I said through my blushing. Damn it! I have to stop being so awkward around Wendy if I even have the chance.</p><p>Mabel snickered at me, and I shot her a look.</p><p>“Mr. Pines! I missed you!” cried Soos, going to hug Grunkle Stan.</p><p>“Soos, it’s been roughly seven hours. Whoa whoa whoa, where’s your shirt?” asked Grunkle Stan, politely refusing Soos’s offer to hug.</p><p>“Long story, dude. You don’t wanna know.” replied Soos.</p><p>“Grunkle Stan, I want to apologize.” I said, facing the old man. “We spent all day chasing a fake, terrifying, prehistoric dinosaur, and we never realized that the real dinosaur was here all along. I’m sorry we wasted the day.”</p><p>“I’m not that old.” said Grunkle Stan blankly. He also checked his watch. “You know, it’s only 4:48. Lake closes at dusk. We’ve got about three hours, if you’re interested.”</p><p>“I don’t know, I’m kinda tired…” said Mabel.</p><p>I elbowed her ribs. “Of course we’d love to! Do you mind if we have a few people join us?”</p><p>“I have plenty of room on my boat.” added Soos.</p><p>Grunkle Stan couldn’t help but smile. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Some nice quality time for all of us.”</p><p>In a few minutes, Mabel, me, Soos, Wendy, Grunkle Stan, and even Lex all walked back on Soos’s boat, and we spent the rest of the day fishing, telling jokes, pranking other fishers, getting in trouble with the police again, and growing closer friendships. </p><p>I ended up finding out a lot more about Lex than before. He’s actually a really funny, really cool guy.</p><p>In the few hours that Grunkle Stan knew him, Lex somehow found a way to get a part-time job at the Mystery Shack as well.</p><p>To my surprise, Lex is also in the same grade as Wendy, and they’re both going to be seniors next year, making both of them a year older than me. It also surprised me that Wendy and Lex were also friends before.</p><p>When it was all done and we headed back home, Grunkle Stan decided to give Lex a proper tour of the Mystery Shack, since he was supposed to start work tomorrow. </p><p>Mabel and I sat down on our respective beds in the attic.</p><p>“What a day.” said Mabel, exhausted.</p><p>“You can say that again.” I added.</p><p>We sat in silence for a few seconds before Mabel broke said silence.</p><p>“Have you put any thought into what I said earlier today?” she asked sincerely.</p><p>“About…?” I responded. “Sorry, I don’t remember, so much happened today.”</p><p>Mabel held up that news article that she slapped in my face earlier today.</p><p>“I know you said you would think it through before figuring out what you’re going to do, but I don’t know if anything that happened today would change your mind, but I wanted to refresh your memory.”</p><p>I pondered for a bit. I had been thinking over my decision from last night, reevaluating it in every single angle, theorizing every possible scenario. One thing I never really took into account was Lex, which would be a pretty big oversight. It would be reassuring that there’s someone else in this town that has powers like me. It also helps that Lex now works at the Shack, and since Lex already has close ties with the inner circle (me, Mabel, Soos, Wendy).</p><p>“You know what, Mabes? I actually have been putting thought into that. I’ve been thinking about it all day as a matter of fact.” I said. “With Lex coming into the equation, it almost seems too good to be true.”</p><p>“What was the decision you made last night?” asked Mabel, with some concern on her face, preparing for an answer she won’t like.</p><p>“I think you can figure out that decision by looking at that headline.” I said, pointing to the newspaper in Mabel’s hand as I smiled.</p><p>Mabel couldn’t help but shine her radiant smile as well. </p><p>“It’s really good to hear that, Dip. It really is.” she said.</p><p>“With Lex there, we could make quite a protective team.” I said.</p><p>“We?”</p><p>“Yeah, we. You think I’m gonna discriminate against you, especially since you kicked a mechanical Writh’s butt?” I said. </p><p>“Who are you and what have you done with my overprotective brother?” skepticized Mabel, pointing at me before laughing.</p><p>Suddenly there was a knock on the door. That’s strange. Grunkle Stan usually just barges in.</p><p>“Come in.” said Mabel.</p><p>The door opened and Lex stepped in.</p><p>“Sup, Lex? Come on in.” I said, waving him to come in.</p><p>“I can’t believe it was that easy for your great uncle to hire me. I guess it pays having connections with Wendy and you too.” said Lex, plopping himself on Mabel’s beanbag chair after she encouraged him to.</p><p>“He truly is Mr. Mystery.” concluded Mabel. “So what brings you up here anyway?”</p><p>“I actually wanted to talk to both of you.” started Lex.</p><p>“We’re all ears, man.” I replied.</p><p>“It’s time I should tell you guys a little more about myself.” said Lex.</p><p>He remembered my request way back when I had to be the Writh’s bait. He’s got an incredibly sharp memory.</p><p>“I know I’m a mysterious person, and I might not be the most expressive of who I am, so bear with me. My name is Alexander Brontes and I moved here about ten years ago. As far as I know, Dipper and I are the only super-powered people in Gravity Falls.” said Lex.</p><p>“Is that it?” I asked. “How did you get your powers?”</p><p>“I don’t remember.” replied Lex. “All I remember is waking up about a year ago with my powers. I was hoping you would maybe help me with a possible explanation. Do you remember how you got yours?”</p><p>I secretly bit my lip. I don’t think it would be a good idea to introduce Lex about those Shards, because I don’t know if they’re fully destroyed. Plus, I’m sure they could be very dangerous if in the wrong hands.</p><p>“No.” I lied. </p><p>Lex shrugged. “Another mystery in this strange town, I guess. We’ll talk tomorrow. For now, I gotta go home. Take care, you two.” he said as he was heading to our bedroom door. </p><p>“Bye Lex! See you at work tomorrow!” said Mabel, waving him goodbye.</p><p>Lex closed the door behind him and it was just Mabel and me in the attic again.</p><p>I could feel Mabel staring into my soul. I turned around to face her.</p><p>“Why’d you lie?” she asked. “You remembered everything that happened to you. Why did you lie?”</p><p>“Do you remember what the journal said, Mabel?” I defended myself. “First, it said that those shards that gave me my power in the first place are extremely powerful, and I’m almost certain that they could be incredibly dangerous in the wrong hands. The journal also says that I can’t trust anyone.”</p><p>“You trust me, Dipper.”</p><p>“You’re different! I’ve known you literally my whole life. I trust you with my life. I know Lex is a really nice guy, but I really need to get to make sure he is what he seems before I leak important information like that.”</p><p>“Keeping secrets isn’t a good idea, Dip. If Lex finds out, he’s going to have trust issues with you as well.” said Mabel.</p><p>“I know that. I’m not saying I’m gonna leave him in the blind forever but this stuff takes time.”</p><p>“Just be careful, then. If you want to be ‘normal’ as you put it, you should probably know that normal people don’t keep that important of a secret from friends, new or old. That’s how you really get to know a person. Heck, maybe telling Wendy what happened to you might even be a way for you to woo her.”</p><p>I quickly flashed a look at her.</p><p>Mabel rolled her eyes. “I’m not stupid, Dipper. I’ve seen you look at her. The various shades of red you turn when you see her. I don’t have to be, like, Ducktective to see that.”</p><p>“Point taken.” I said. “But-”</p><p>“Shh.” asserted Mabel. “I’m tired. We’ll talk more later. It’s sleepy time, I’m dead.”</p><p>Literally four seconds later, Mabel passed out and started snoring.</p><p>I walked over to her bed and lifted her head enough to stop her snoring while keeping her in the sleeping state.</p><p>I brushed my teeth and layed down in my bed. It feels like everytime I go to sleep here, there are so many more questions for me to answer. Besides Soos, Lex is probably now my best chance at having a best friend here. All I want to do is be normal here, but with what happened already this summer, chances are that won’t happen. But, and that’s a big but, Lex might be a way to normalize this abnormality.</p><p>I decided to sleep on it. If I change my mind, I can talk to him tomorrow. For now, like Mabel, I’m extremely tired.</p><p>I passed out, my mind still a jumble.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>From now on I’ll be going on more original storylines rather than simply making parodies of previous Gravity Falls episodes. To me it just seems like a cheap way to use those stories as a template for my own, and to me feels like a disservice to the show, so I will instead try my best to go all-original. </p><p>This includes storylines, characters, and I guess the universe’s lore in general. Right now, I have a very loose timeline in my head, regarding key dates and adventures, which will be different from the series. Remember, this is an alternate universe to the normal Gravity Falls universe, with its own separate continuity. If the next episode is crappy, then I’ll loosely base my episodes on the old episodes.</p><p>Also I’ll make more ciphers in the stories for those who like solving them. Hint: you’ll get a better idea at my thought behind how I’m building this universe through those ciphers.</p><p>Anyway that’s enough of me babbling. As always, leave a comment regarding any praise or criticism. All is taken. Thanks for reading this and have a good day.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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